Got Paid Twice

Shockingly, a state auditor actually caught a $10 million mistake - and he wants his money back.

Seems some folks got Katrina unemployment checks while they were working. The worst offenders - City of NOLA Administrative workers - to the tune of $4 million.

I'm sure Dr. Morphy-Godcheaux will report on this during his field trip.

Goin' Back to New Orleans

I'll be away all next week, heading to New Orleans for the first time since The Storm. We'll be staying the the French Quarter and visiting family. I wonder if there is still a Paul Morphy Chess Club on St. Charles ...

Viagra could aid jetlag recovery

As the BBC reports: Viagra could aid jetlag recovery

Mr. Go Gone?

It looks like that dangerous and expensive boondoggle called Mr. Go is going, going, ... almost gone. Progress sure seems slower on these things than it ought to be.

Corps will ask to close MR-GO, official says

The good folks at ccmrgo.com in Arabi have been way ahead of everyone on this one. Too bad it took such a tragedy for the people in charge to listen to these folks (and many others).

Gas prices: Worse than '81 oil shock

Well, I guess Shell-Exxon-Mobil-Haliburton figure they only have 18 more months or so to milk the US comsumers. Still, it's hard to feel sorry when you see all the V8 SUVs on the road today.

Gas prices: Worse than '81 oil shock

I've also heard that the Iraq War is the largest disruption of oil supplies since WWII.

Confederacy of Suds

From Gambit:
Confederacy of Suds
Dixie Beer returns with the help of a German-born brewer on the Northshore (!!)

Katrina Aid Program Is $2.9 Billion Short

Ok, so they have picked up the pace. Two years on, 16,000 homeowners out of 130,000 have received checks from the $7B fund. Even at a generous $100k per check, it would seem about $1.6B has been given out. What is the big hold up here?

Katrina Aid Program Is $2.9 Billion Short

Jihadis in New Jersey?

Six convenience store clerks and pizza delivery guys from New Jersey who played paintball for practice are claimed to be terrorists planning on attacking Fort Dix. If this is true, the U.S. is fortunate, because these must be the dumbest terrorists ever. Of all places to attack, why would anyone pick an Army base, filled with well-trained guys with guns? I can't imagine them getting very far at all with this one.

Jihadis in New Jersey?

Climate Change

Today there's big fires in the west and the east. Huge tornadoes followed by floods in the middle of the country. And now an Atlantic storm, three weeks before the official start of hurricane season. My grandmother used to think all the 'space shots' in the 1960s had altered the weather. Perhaps she was on to something. Is it time to get worried yet?

Extreme weather, fires befall nation

Something Familar About this Tale

There was a major weather-related natural disaster in the US this week, and the state government involved claims much of its National Guard units and equipment were deployed in Iraq, so they were not able to respond adequately. The Democratic Governor's name was Kathleen ... no, not Blanco -- Kathleen Sebelius of Kansas. White House Press Secretary Tony Snow took offense at this, pointing the finger back at the state government for not requesting more federal aid in advance of the tornadoes.

White House, Kansas governor argue over storm response

Critic Says Levee Repairs Show Signs of Flaws

These guys just need to close "Mr. GO". Critic Says Levee Repairs Show Signs of Flaws

Al Scramuzza on Blogger?

Al Scramuzza on blogger?!??

The Numbers on Gambling

The Christian Science Monitor has an interesting editorial on gambling -- sorry, 'gaming' in America. Turns out 80% of the money spent is by people making less than $50k a year. My biggest beef is that this turns into a substitute for taxes (I think of it as a tax on people who are bad at math). I'd prefer to see gambling completely legal instead of this strange deal we have today in the US. Heck, you got much better odds in the old days when the mob ran the numbers. Al Capone wouldn't have dared try to take the huge cut the government takes today.

The gambling scam on America's poor

NOLA Satire News Site

Check out The New Orleans Levee, a news satire a' la The Onion. The web site is a bit clunky but the stories are a riot. The site's tagline is also pretty good: "The New Orleans Levee - We Don't Hold Back Anything."

American Ignorance

This YouTube bit is making the rounds. I found it hilarious, but some find it disturbing. It's really just a rip-off of Jay Leno's 'Jaywalking' bit.