I miss Marc Morial

Reading this Politico post about the National Urban League, and it's current President Marc Morial made me realize how great New Orleans had it. I remember when this city was on the upward tract, now it seems like we are stagnating.

Shreveport sounds nice

Wow... for the first time in my life, I've felt like it would have been pretty cool to live in Shreveport. If only I had a couple acres there now, maybe I could be a multi-millionaire too.

This just in from the NYT:

A no-holds-barred, all-American gold rush for natural gas is under way in this forgotten corner of the South, and De Soto Parish, with its fat check from a large energy company this month, is only the latest and largest beneficiary.

Another part that stood out was this:

The experts say the hype appears to be justified, which is why companies like the Chesapeake Energy Corporation and the Petrohawk Energy Corporation are now paying top dollar for land that was once hoarded to eke out miserly timber sales, at best.

I work for an Oil/Natural Gas company, and while those companies listed above are respectable middle-sized names, it surprised me that none of the big Louisiana Natural Gas companies were mentioned in the article. I wonder if there is a reason for that beyond general market forces. I know our company is tied up with big Gulf of Mexico drilling project right now, but I would think that they would still be interested in this if it were that promising.

State Sen. now in halfway house

So, in an update to my previous post, the Times-Picayune is reporting this:

State Sen. Derrick Shepherd was ordered to a halfway house by a federal judge this afternoon as authorities seek to revoke his bond in a federal mail fraud and conspiracy case after the senator was arrested last weekend after a fight with his ex-girlfriend.

It also turns out that he confronted his ex-girlfriend's mother and sister after the assault/theft. His lousy defense can only come up with this:

Defense lawyer John Reed said outside court Monday that details of the latest arrest had unfairly skewed the incident.

"The incident over the weekend was unfortunate for everyone," he said. "It was a personal matter. ... I think when the whole story comes out, which it will eventually, I think you'll see a very different cast put on it than the spin put on by the print and media in particular and by the government as well."

I hope he gets his bail revoked - maybe then I can get some adequate representation.

Song of the day

How did I miss Dar Williams?



This song is called "Christians and Pagans."

Conservatives attack!

I love it when the Conservatives attack McCain for his flip-flops, if only because they will generate media coverage:

via First Read, here is the Club for Growth:

We listened with concern yesterday to your interview with George Stephanopoulos on Social Security," the club's president Pat Toomey writes in a letter to McCain. "When asked if you would be open to raising the payroll tax, you refused to rule out a tax increase, saying 'There is nothing that’s off the table.' This statement was particularly shocking because you have been adamant in your opposition to raising taxes under any circumstances.

I wish that the MSM had actually covered this earlier, because McCain has often attacked Barack Obama on this very issue.

Word

I totally agree with Arianna Huffington. Polls taken three months before the election are a waste of time.

Deep thought

If Belgium split into two countries, would they fight over who got to retain the name?