Free Republic

...In 2007, frustrated by the slow pace of rebuilding in the Lower Ninth, Brad Pitt set up a foundation called Make It Right; the foundation then commissioned 13 architecture firms to design affordable, green houses... Indeed, from the main route into the Lower Ninth, the Claiborne Avenue Bridge, it’s impossible to miss the Brad Pitt Houses, as everyone here calls them. They are sprawling, angular buildings in bold hues not usually seen outside a gelateria...

You can be excused for thinking that "Steven Seagal: Lawman" is another in the action movie star's canon of B-movies. You know, the kind of film where breaking bones with martial arts and aiming to kill (and succeeding) are part of the script. But for most people, finding out that Seagal has been a real-life deputy for nearly 20 years in the Jefferson Parish sheriff's office in Louisiana might come as a mind-rattling shock. The beefy tough guy is not just a martial arts expert who has helped train officers while being a member of their force, he's also an...

Fresh off her national “Louisiana Purchase” outrage, Sen. Mary Landrieu has a full dance card back in New Orleans over the next few days. Her companions for the Crescent City one-night stands on the calendar are, shall we say, interesting. On Saturday, Landrieu is set to give the welcome speech at a rather out-of-the-mainstream event – this time, she’ll be addressing the New Orleans premiere of Inside Islam: What a Billion Muslims Really Think. So as we can see, Landrieu is largely supporting a propaganda film in making her appearance and speech at Saturday’s premiere. And her neighbors at the...

Glenn Beck - he has one of the highest-rated shows on the top cable news network. He's had a number of bestselling books and he's called attention to some unsavory characters working in the Obama administration. Yet - he's somehow considered to be a risky business decision for the powers in charge at Fox News. On CNN's Nov. 29 "Reliable Sources," host Howard Kurtz pointed out Glenn Beck accusing Sen. Mary Landrieu, D-La., of "hooking" for the so-called $300 million "Louisiana Purchase" provision of the health care bill. "He's talking there about Louisiana Sen. Mary Landrieu, who did get a...

RUSH: I didn't know this stuff was going on out there, I just was advised of it -- and we're going to treat you to it as you and I listen to it perhaps for the first time together, depending on whether or not you watch PMSNBC. The other day, I guess it was Monday, I opened this program by saying, "That might be the most expensive prostitute in the history of prostitutes," regarding the $300 million payoff from Dingy Harry to Mary Landrieu to get her vote to open debate on the health care bill. So on MSNBC during...

Glenn Beck and Rush Limbaugh make deeply offensive comments on a near daily basis on their respective radio programs. Mostly, I don't feel the need to draw attention to them. But yesterday both men crossed into completely unacceptable territory. Followers of the health care debate will know that Louisiana Senator Mary Landrieu is high on the list of moderate Democrats who may ultimately vote against the bill. On Saturday, she was the second last Senator to lend her vote to a motion to open debate on the bill. Part of her motivation to consent came form a concession she successfully...

The new LA purchease. I am so sick and tired of the highfalutin language in Congressional legislation. There is no reason they need to put in crazy formulas describing who gets how much cash. Unless of course, you want to hide $100 million in bribes to ensure a senator votes for health care. You see, Harry Ried (D-Nev.) needs at least 60 votes to push through his legislation entitled Service Members Home Ownership Tax Act of 2009 which has almost nothing to do with home ownership, rather it’s about destroying health care and America. Thanks to Radio Vice Online reader...

All it took for Senator Mary Landrieu to vote to open debate on the Democrats' leviathan health care reform measure was a hundred million. Or was it $300 million, as Landrieu claims? That's $100 million in aid to Louisiana for disaster relief plus another $200 million for Medicaid or whatever else she could weasel. And whatever she's saying about being undecided on final passage, don't buy it. The only way she'll cart off the dough is if the bill passes. But while the senator is preening like a peacock about the fat she plans to ladle from the federal pork...

You scratch my back, I’ll scratch yours. That’s the way it’s always worked in Washington, so the news that Mary Landrieu will hold a fundraiser in New Orleans for Senator Harry Reid comes as no surprise. Reid procured a substantial dose of cash to Landrieu’s Louisiana in exchange for her crucial “moderate” vote. Senator Mary Landrieu from Louisiana garnered a lot of attention before the healthcare vote last night as to whether she would or wouldn’t vote yes to send the monstrosity of a bill to the floor for debate. After rumors of a $100 million dollar bribe by Senator...

Dear Senator Mary Landrieu, In the words of Ricky Ricardo, you got some splainin’ to do. This state is clearly against this health care bill and you voted to move it forward despite the overwhelming wishes of your constituents. Avoiding your constituents can not continue to be your response. Reserving and filling the front four rows with people who are obviously for the health care bill at a town hall only serves as an indication that you are more interested in advancing this agenda than serving your constituents. Don’t hide from your constituents over this Thanksgiving break, don’t stay in...

Staffers on Capitol Hill were calling it the Louisiana Purchase. On the eve of Saturday's showdown in the Senate over health-care reform, Democratic leaders still hadn't secured the support of Sen. Mary Landrieu (D-La.), one of the 60 votes needed to keep the legislation alive. The wavering lawmaker was offered a sweetener: at least $100 million in extra federal money for her home state. And so it came to pass that Landrieu walked onto the Senate floor midafternoon Saturday to announce her aye vote -- and to trumpet the financial "fix" she had arranged for Louisiana. "I am not going...

Sen. Mary Landrieu holds off on taking health care stand, while pressing for aid for Louisiana WASHINGTON (Nov. 20) -- Sen. Mary Landrieu, D-La., remained mum Thursday on whether she will deliver a crucial vote Saturday night to enable the Senate to debate health-care reform when it returns from the Thanksgiving holiday. But Landrieu has already succeeded in adding a provision to the 2,074-page Senate version of the health care bill unveiled this week that would provide Louisiana between $100 million and $300 million in Medicaid funding in fiscal 2011. "Look," said [Louisiana secretary of health and hospitals] Alan Levine,...

What's $100 million of taxpayer money between a few U.S. Senators? After reports surfaced, originally from ABC News, and subsequently commented upon by prominent lefties, like U.S. News and World Report's Bonnie Erbe as my colleague Noel Sheppard pointed out, Sen. Mary Landrieu, D-La., took the Senate floor on Nov. 21 to announce she would vote in favor to proceed forward with the Senate Democratic leadership's health bill. But she also took time to respond to allegations that $100 million earmarked for the Louisiana was added to that legislation to sway her vote by referring to the likes of ABC...

I just heard Sen. Mary Landrieu (D-La) speak live on the Senate floor, carried by Fox News. Fox reported last night that Obama & the White House cronies were trying to buy her off with $100 million for her State. Well, the price was right. She sold out; she's voting tonight to move the Senate Health Care Bill fwd. But, what do we expect from someone who's ancestors were friends of Huey "Kingfish" Long. The most corrupt politician in LA history. I just went to www.gradegov.com and gave her an "F" and sent a scathing e-mail along with it.

An epic overhaul of the nation's healthcare system comes down to a single vote. POLITICO: Two Saturdays ago, Pelosi passed health reform on a squeaker of a House vote. Today, Reid can’t spare a single Democrat as the Senate decides whether to start debate. If not, President Barack Obama’s reform hopes suffer immeasurable harm. That said, things were looking good at daybreak, as Reid can be reasonably confident of 59 votes, with Sen. Ben Nelson (D-Neb.) a yes vote and Sen. Mary Landrieu (D-La.) leaning yes. The holdout: Sen. Blanche Lincoln (D-Ark.), who has been a fan of reform generally...

Remember earlier this year when the new era of hope and change was ushered into Washington, D.C. and President Barack Obama made the statement on day one his policies would “represent a clean break from business as usual"? Not so fast says Charles Krauthammer, columnist for The Washington Post and Fox News regular. Krauthammer on the Nov. 20 broadcast of Fox News “Special Report with Bret Baier” explained that a certain provision put into to the Senate version of health care legislation to favor undecided Democratic senators, specifically Sen. Mary Landrieu, D-La., represents a different brand of politics from what...

Landrieu's Vote Will Reveal her integrity (or lack of): WASHINGTON -- Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid's health care bill has millions of dollars to help Louisiana finance Medicaid at a time when he is hoping that state's wavering Democratic senator will support overhaul legislation. The bill provides at least $100 million for Louisiana in extra funds for Medicaid, the state-federal health program for the poor. Louisiana's Democratic senator, Mary Landrieu, has said she is undecided about the Democratic health care package. Reid needs the votes of all 60 Democratic senators for the Senate debate to begin.

Sen. Mary Landrieu, D-La., will host a fundraiser for Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid, D-Nev., in New Orleans next month, an event that comes on the heels of Reid's assistance getting Louisiana a windfall of Medicaid money in the health care reform bill.

NEW ORLEANS — Since the first days after Hurricane Katrina, when the streets were still under water, many residents of New Orleans and its surroundings have maintained that the flood that wrecked their lives was the government’s fault, and that the government should pay for it. On Wednesday night came news that many had hoped for but few had believed would ever actually happen: a federal judge agreed. “My head is spinning,” said Pam Dashiell, a co-director of the Lower Ninth Ward Sustainability Project and a 20-year resident of the neighborhood. “Maybe things are really breaking for the people.” The...

am told the section applies to exactly one state: Louisiana, the home of moderate Democrat Mary Landrieu, who has been playing hard to get on the health care bill. In other words, the bill spends two pages describing would could be written with a single world: Louisiana. (This may also help explain why the bill is long.) Senator Harry Reid, who drafted the bill, cannot pass it without the support of Louisiana’s Mary Landrieu. How much does it cost? According to the Congressional Budget Office: $100 million.

Bipartisan Effort to Enforce Reforms They Enacted in Wake of Hurricane Katrina. Washington, D.C. ­– Two years after enacting critical reforms of the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers, U.S. Senators Russ Feingold (D-WI) and John McCain (R-AZ) are asking the Administration why little progress has been made to implement them. Those reforms, passed in the wake of Hurricane Katrina, made key changes to strengthen the Corps and ensure that it uses its limited resources wisely. One of those reforms was a requirement that the Corps’ planning guidelines, Planning Principles & Guidelines (P&G), be modernized. In a letter sent today to...

In a groundbreaking decision, a federal judge ruled late Wednesday that the Army Corps of Engineers' mismanagement of maintenance at the Mississippi River-Gulf Outlet was directly responsible for flood damage in St. Bernard Parish and the Lower 9th Ward after Hurricane Katrina.

<p>Contact your Senators and let them know what you think!</p> <p>U.S. veterans or subsidies for United Nations (U.N.) bureaucracy.</p>

New Orleans (AP) -- A federal judge has ruled that the Army Corps of Engineers' failure to properly maintain a navigation channel led to massive flooding in Hurricane Katrina.

All-American Michael Oher went from the streets as a 15-year-old son of a crack addict to potential NFL Rookie of the Year on the love and dedication of an adoptive family that wouldn’t let him fail. The movie that tells their story hits theaters in time for National Adoption Day—and recognition that about 130,000 Michael Ohers are waiting for a family to adopt them Sean and Leigh Anne Tuohy adopted as a family motto, "To whom much is given, much is required," they had no idea just how much would be required, nor that they were adopting far more than...

White voters led defeat of bond issue Mayor-President Kip Holden’s proposed $901 million capital improvement tax package failed Saturday because of a lopsided “no” vote in suburban, predominantly white areas of East Baton Rouge Parish, according to an analysis of precinct vote totals. Voter turnout was substantially higher in predominantly white precincts, and the votes tended to be a reverse of those cast in predominantly African-American precincts, where the tax package enjoyed its strongest support. “The suburban vote was really strong, and really lopsided,” said Wayne Parent, an LSU political science professor. The tax package failed with 64 percent of...

A giant combination of sales and property taxes -almost a billion dollars - is going down in flames tonight in East Baton Rouge Parish, Louisiana. Our friends at the Baton Rouge Tea Party led the charge to defeat this boondoggle. Congratulations are due. Here is their website. http://www.batonrougeteaparty.net/Default.aspx Here is today's news story about the vote. http://www.2theadvocate.com/news/70085962.html

ALEXANDRIA, Va. – A former Louisiana congressman who famously hid $90,000 cash in his freezer was sentenced Friday to 13 years in prison for taking bribes, the longest term ever imposed on a congressman for bribery charges. William Jefferson, a Democrat who represented parts of New Orleans for nearly 20 years, was convicted in August of taking roughly $500,000 in bribes and seeking millions more in exchange for using his influence to broker business deals in Africa. The sentence was still far less than the nearly 30 years prosecutors had sought.

The Senate Ethics Committee earlier this month dismissed a complaint alleging Sen. Mary Landrieu (D-La.) traded campaign donations for earmarks, according to a letter released Thursday. The ethics panel announced its decision in a letter to the Congressional watchdog group Citizens for Responsibility and Ethics in Washington, which filed the complaint against Landrieu in January 2008. “The Committee has evaluated carefully the allegations and information in your complaint, as well as other information, including information provided to the Committee by Senator Landrieu in response to your complaint,” reads the Nov. 6 letter, signed by John Sassaman, the committee’s chief counsel...

Two suspects have been arrested in the death of Paige DeJean, the 7-year-old girl killed by a stray bullet that ripped through the wall of her River Ridge apartment, authorities said today. Andre Preston, 21, 428 Webster St., Kenner, and Roger Chairs, 21, 728 Filmore St., River Ridge, were booked overnight with first-degree murder, Jefferson Parish Sheriff Newell Normand said. Chairs was arrested at home, Preston at a Kenner motel.They were identified as suspects from neighborhood tips and investigation by Sheriff's Office detectives. "The death of Paige created pause in the community," Normand said. "I'm glad the community stepped up...

Seven-year-old Paige DeJean called her daddy every Sunday to keep him updated about school, her friends and just how much she has missed him since he deployed to the Middle East in June with his Louisiana Army National Guard unit.But on Sunday, instead of a bubbly conversation with his little girl, Staff Sgt. Henry DeJean received a call from her mother with the devastating news that Paige had been killed, shot by a stray bullet as she slept in her River Ridge apartment. "He was thinking it was his daughter calling him. He had no idea somebody was calling him...

11/10/2009 - SHREVEPORT, La. (AFNS) -- An Air Force recruiter stopped a robbery in progress while attending his unit's annual training conference Oct. 29 here. Staff Sgt. Cesar Munoz, a recruiter with the 344th Recruiting Squadron stationed in Killeen, Texas, subdued two assailants attempting to mug an elderly man at the Sam's Town Hotel and Casino in Shreveport. Sergeant Munoz and his wife, April, had just left the squadron's annual promotion party at the hotel and were heading to the casino. The party had featured a Halloween theme, so Sergeant Munoz entered dressed as Elvis, complete with white sequined jumper,...

Prosecutors want a sentence of at least 27 years for a Democrat convicted of accepting more than $400,000 in bribes while in office. A federal court found 18-year Rep. William Jefferson (D-La.) guilty this past August on 11 counts of bribery, racketeering and money-laundering. Federal guidelines specify he could face more than 20 years of prison time for his misdeeds, but prosecutors on Monday made clear they will make the case for at least 27 years — and a maximum of 33 years — when sentencing begins this Friday. The defense has yet to file its sentencing arguments, according to...

When “Joseph” Cao was elected to the 2nd Congressional District in Louisiana, House Minority Leader John Boehner hailed him as representing the GOP’s future. Cao was the only Republican to vote for the Pelosi healthcare reform bill Saturday evening. According to the POLITICO, in a memo dated December 7, 2008 and addressed to House Republicans, Boehner wrote: As House Republicans look ahead to the next two years, the Cao victory is a symbol of what can be achieved when we think big, present a positive alternative, and work aggressively to earn the trust of the American people. Joseph Cao is...

Fannie Mae has announced that it is going to become a landlord. To avoid foreclosing, Fannie will allow some homeowners to rent. It’s another gamble with our money. Just 6 years ago, Barney Frank said this about Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac: We see entities that are fundamentally sound financially and withstand some of the disastrous scenarios. And even if there were a problem, the Federal Government doesn't bail them out. Oops, this year Congress bailed them out with 100 billion of your tax dollars. And congress has promised Fannie and Freddie ... another $300 billion in guarantees. Will the...

Tea Party Express Sunday, November 8, 2009 Road Report from Darla Dawald - ResistNet/Grassfire Resistnet.com Home of the Patriotic Resistance Darla Dawald on the Road with the Tea Party Express II Friday November 6th I joined the Tea Party Express in the great state of Texas representing Resistnet and Grassfire. The Texas Patriots were great and as expected showed up for the rallies in number and form from Austin to Houston, and Beaumont! The Next stop was Baton Rouge where the people were feisty due to a 215-220 vote in the House of Representatives last night approving their version...

In the end, satisfied that the House health care reform bill would not subsidize abortions, Rep. Anh "Joseph'' Cao, R-New Orleans, voted "yes" late Saturday night, making him the only Republican in the House to vote for a bill that passed 220-215. U.S. Rep. Ahn 'Joseph' Cao was the only member of Louisiana's seven-member House delegation to support the Democratic plan. Cao also was the only member of Louisiana's seven-member House delegation to support the Democratic plan.

Washington (CNN) - Rep. Anh "Joseph" Cao was the only Republican to vote in favor of the Democratic health care bill that passed the House late Saturday, a vote that came after President Obama called to personally to ask for his support, Cao told CNN. The president dialed the freshman congressman from Louisiana around noon on Saturday, hours before a vote on an amendment offered by anti-abortion Democrats that banned most abortion coverage from the public option and other insurance providers in the insurance "exchange" the legislation would create. That measure passed later in the evening. Cao said he explained...

Louisiana Republican Congressman Cao releases statement after voting in favor of Democratic health care reform bill WASHINGTON, D.C. (BNO NEWS) -- Louisiana Congressman Anh "Joseph" Cao on Sunday morning released a statement after he voted as the only Republican in favor of the Democratic health care reform bill. The health care reform bill, dubbed the "Affordable Health Care for America Act" (H.R. 3962), passed the U.S. House of Representatives in a 220 - 215 vote. "Tonight, I voted to keep taxpayer dollars from funding abortion and to deliver access to affordable health care to the people of Louisiana," Cao said...

Tonight, Congressman Anh “Joseph” Cao (LA-2) voted in favor of the comprehensive health reform bill, H.R. 3962, the Affordable Health Care for America Act. Of his vote, Cao said: “Tonight, I voted to keep taxpayer dollars from funding abortion and to deliver access to affordable health care to the people of Louisiana. Cao said: “I read the versions of the House [health reform] bill. I listened to the countless stories of Orleans and Jefferson Parish citizens whose health care costs are exploding – if they are able to obtain health care at all. Louisianans needs real options for primary care,...

Contact information: Washington, D.C. Office: 2113 Rayburn House Office Building, District of Columbia 20515-1802 Phone: (202) 225-6636 Fax: (202) 225-1988 New Orleans Office: (more district offices) 4640 South Carrollton Avenue, Suite 120 New Orleans, Louisiana 70119 Phone: (504) 483-2325 Fax: (504) 483-7944 New Orleans Office: 4640 South Carrollton Avenue, Suite 120 New Orleans, Louisiana 70119 Phone: (504) 483-2325Fax: (504) 483-7944 web contact formIt would be appropriate to let him know how much we appreciate his vote. Not for the value of the vote, but because he gave the Dhims cover to say that it was "bipartisan."

NEW ORLEANS – State investigators raided ACORN offices on Friday, taking away computer hard drives and documents as part of a probe into alleged embezzlement and tax fraud when the organization's national headquarters was based in New Orleans."This is an investigation of everything — ACORN, the national organization, the local organization and all of its affiliated entities, specifically as it relates to any potential violations of Louisiana law," Assistant Attorney General David Caldwell said.ACORN staff on the scene declined to comment, but an attorney for the group said in a statement the raid was prompted by allegations that former ACORN...

In a fast-breaking development comes word that agents of the Attorney’s General office in Louisiana have raided ACORN’s offices in New Orleans. ACORN’s New Orleans was, for decades, the headquarters of the national community organizing association. News of the raid comes from Marcel Reid and her colleagues at ACORN 8, an association of former ACORN leaders and board members. Many of the individuals involved with ACORN 8 were fired from ACORN for demanding a forensic audit following an embezzlement scandal involving Dale Rathke, brother of ACORN co-founder Wade Rathke. Check back her for more details, as well as a statement...

Attorney General Buddy Caldwell has served a search warrant at the ACORN office at 2609 Canal Street, according to Tammi Arender Herring, a spokeswoman with the office. Investigators in khaki pants and polo shirts loaded several dozen computers and other electronic items into an SUV. They are also carrying records out of the building on handcarts. The large office building sits at the corner of Dorgenois and Canal. ACORN staffers were given no notice that a search would be conducted today, Herring said. "They have been extremely cooperative," she said. Early last month, Caldwell's office issued subpoenas for records from...

A Louisiana justice of the peace who refused to marry a couple because the bride was white and groom was black resigned Tuesday. Keith Bardwell acknowledged he routinely recused himself from marrying interracial couples. Keith Bardwell, who is white, quit the post with a one-sentence statement to Louisiana Secretary of State Jay Dardenne and no explanation of his decision: "I do hereby resign the office of Justice of the Peace for the Eighth Ward of Tangipahoa Parish, Louisiana, effective November 3, 2009."

Note: The following text is a quote: Three Louisiana individuals sentenced for transporting illegal aliens Defendants Part of Large Scale Operation to Transport Illegal Aliens LAKE CHARLES, La. - Members of a large scale illegal alien transportation operation based in Sulphur, La., were sentenced in federal court yesterday following an investigation by U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) agents. U. S. District Judge Patricia Minaldi sentenced Carolyn Joyce Metcalf, 62, to 30 months in prison, followed by three years supervised release; Terri Lynn Fields, 41, to 27 months in prison, followed by three years supervised release; and Jean Morgan Vincent,...

Just months after leaving New Orleans, former recovery czar Ed Blakely gave a television interview lambasting the city, saying its people are racists, its city workers are unsophisticated and its residents lazy.

North Dakota sits on one of the largest pools of oil in North America. The Bakken Shale Formation is estimated to hold nearly four billion barrels of oil that can be extracted. And now, a new batch of oil just under the Bakken is adding even more interest to oil exploration in the state. The Bakken Shale Formation has created excitement in western North Dakota - the kind of excitement that leads to things like bumper stickers. But even as oil companies scramble to tap into the Bakken, there's a new oil play brewing - it's called the Three Forks-Sanish...

CNN's on-air meteorologist reporting a tornado on the ground in Shreveport, Louisiana- local fire department calling it in.

NEW ORLEANS (AP) — Former Louisiana Gov. Dave Treen, who became the state's first Republican governor since Reconstruction when he was elected in 1979 but lost a re-election bid to the flamboyant Democrat Edwin Edwards four years later, has died at age 81. Treen's son, David C. Treen Jr., said Treen died early Thursday of complications from a respiratory illness at East Jefferson General Hospital in a New Orleans suburb. Funeral arrangements were not complete.