Day: November 10, 2011

Since everyone is teasing these days….

I’ll join the crowd and disclose my gabby cousin Slabb O’Leaks has been busy again and I have some very controversial confidential documents that I’ll be sharing sooner than later.  I also have part three of La ferme pue pire que la route putes un vagin on tap for the Canadian wing of the Slabbed Nation and I have wrapped up my research into Billy Nungesser’s strange relationship with the politically connected Trident Nova Scotia for both our friends in Plaquemines Parish as well as Canada.  I’ll also update the saga of Boss Hogg’s niece Rosemary Barbour and catch up with the doings in Oxpatch. Whew that’s a lot!

There is never a dull moment on the Slabb folks. 😉 Stay tuned.

sop

Big D says he is innocent: A Heebe/River Birch sacrificial lamb update

His lawyers, especially the ones paid by River Birch, will guarantee Dominick Fazzio spends a long time behind bars for the defrauding of Garner Services in a brother-in-law deal with former Garner Exec Mark Titus. Paul Rioux has the skinny for the Times Picayune as we are again reminded why I think Ginger Berrigan will do her best to screw up the case as she is awfully close to Fred Heebe’s dad, still a senior judge in the LAED.

Berrigan really doesn’t give a crap what the public thinks as she has double dealt in conflict of interest land before in Bernofsky v Tulane without blushing so we need to keep a close eye on this one.

sop

I’ve had a couple of readers suggest I apply…

Actually the annual audit the parish pays for should identify all the major internal control problems in the Parish’s financial system so the latest news the Parish is looking to hire a CPA firm to do what their auditor should already be doing strikes me as a bit of a waste. And besides the Legislative auditor made clear in their report the source of the problems with the internal controls system as it related to the Jefferson Parish Performing Arts Center derived from management overrides of existing policies and procedures, including Cynthia Lee Sheng’s council mate Elton Lagasse pushing thru a bogus change order via Tim Whitmer that included a huge delay claim.

That said it helps to have a CFO with some sack and both the Waste Management lawsuit and the Performing Arts fiasco clearly indicated Gwen Bolotte was a highly paid doormat. It was an open secret that John Young was looking to upgrade the position and he got his way as Bolotte has taken it to the house.

We’ll keep an eye out on this.

sop

Is Jefferson Parish School Board Member Michael R. Delesdernier a complete asshole? Lee Zurik reports you decide.

Well folks I thought Mississippi voters were the most accomplished at shooting themselves in the foot but I think I’ve changed my mind and Jefferson Parish School Board member Michael R. Delesdernier is the reason.

Like the City of Kenner, Jefferson Parish Schools are a cesspool of corruption separate from the big show in Parish Government. That said, the school district, one of the lowest rated in the entire state has also proven itself something of a proving ground for assorted miscreants such as Chris “Mini-me” Roberts, Elton Lagasse, Julie Quinn etc etc etc that aspire to take their double-dealing to the larger stage at the Yenni Building and beyond. Against that backdrop it should come as no surprise the current school board includes a thug in Pat Tovrea and a certified asshole in Delesdernier.

I mention this because there was school board election in Jefferson Parish last year and a slate of “business people” were put forward as the solution to all that ails the poorly performing school district.  In Delesdernier case he unseated long time incumbent Judy Colgan and it appears the people in JPS District 8 have been suffering the results ever since.  I say this not to praise Colgan, as the system deteriorated further during her tenure in office.  This is the predictable end result when the folks running the system are actively looking for places to loot it out same as the old Orleans Parish School Board.  If it is possible though, the voters elected a bigger bunch of crooked idiots that the ones already on board as a well-informed reader in Jefferson related to me after that last election. It is against that backdrop that I present last night’s Lee Zurik’s investigation into a shadow vote taken by the school board via email that resulted in a relatively minor policy matter becoming a major scandal.

“You know what an anarchist is… right? I think you are an anarchist too.” Continue reading “Is Jefferson Parish School Board Member Michael R. Delesdernier a complete asshole? Lee Zurik reports you decide.”

Jim Brown’s Weekly Column: Veterans Honored Around the World

Friday, November 11th, 2011 (11/11/11)
New Orleans, Louisiana

VETERANS HONORED AROUND THE WORLD!

Many soothsayers are excited about what may happen on 11/11/11. They consider the number 11 to be a Master Number. According to those believers, on this special day, you can use mind power to actualize what you want in your life. For them, it is a day to look forward. But there are those, like yours truly, who acknowledge that this is a special day, but for a totally different reason. For us, November 11 is a day to look back, to remember — the special day to honor the millions of veterans who served and fought throughout this century to protect our right to be free.

November 11th is Veterans Day. Few Americans know the difference between Veterans Day and Memorial Day, which is celebrated in May. Veterans Day honors all those who served in any military capacity. Memorial Day commemorates those who gave their lives in service to America. And there are countries worldwide that have adopted this day to remember and honor those who served in the many wars of the 20th century. Services and ceremonies will take place on Friday in Canada, Australia, New Zealand, India, South Africa, France, Belgium, Israel, Italy, the Netherlands, and Poland, just to name a few.

For many Americans, Veterans Day is just another holiday to get off work. There is quite a contrast to this attitude in Great Britain. The military celebration there is called Remembrance Day, and it is held on the Sunday closest to November 11. There are church services throughout the country, and there are parades of ex servicemen and women in towns and villages from north to south. In both world wars, London was under heavy attack from the Germans with nightly air raids, and the Brits were much more personally touched than we were. I witnessed the emotion of this special day on a trip to London a few years back. Continue reading “Jim Brown’s Weekly Column: Veterans Honored Around the World”