Mary Ekes Out a Sweet Victory

IMHO it was the last minute introduction of the Mexican rumor that that pushed Mary over the top. The story goes that the Bush administration, and by extension Suzie, was poised to allow Mexico to flood the dometic market with cheap sugar, thus spoiling the sweetheart deal LA sugar growers have enjoyed for so many years Too bad for the Dems they did not figure this move for the Gov's race in FLA, which also benifits from protectionist tarriffs on sugar. OTOH, maybe that race wasn't close enough to risk playing that card to no effect.

It's a Black Thing

From this AM's Times Pic:

The differences in black and white turnout underscore one of Landrieu's chief problems as she heads into the runoff: She has not been able to motivate African-American voters, the core constituency for a Democrat and a group that constitutes a third of the Louisiana electorate.

I've got two magic words with which Suzie T can break Mary's lock on the black vote and siphon off some that do vote on December 7:

School Vouchers

Chortle

Free Iraq Vacation, though I think I already know who won. They won’t need a flight or a car either…

Mary better watch out...

...because:

1. LA is a red state. W will definitely be visiting to stump for the Republican candidate now that there is just one.

2. The Pachy vote was 51%(Terrell 27%, Cooksey 14%, and Perkins 10%). Nobody who voted R will cross over and most will definitely show up to vote in the runoff. No Smith like hard feelings here, Cooksey and Perkins will fully back Suzie. Mary only got 45% this time around and that was with a close DA's race going on in Nola (which bowler chapeued Eddie Jordan barely won) to boost Donk turnout.

3. The runoff is December 7, which has traditionally been a low turnout day.

I don't expect Mayor Nagin to do much for her either. It is not like the she or the Democratic party helped him get elected (they backed Jefferson's guy, Pennington). Nagin knows Republicans helped elect him and doing more than the obligatory for Mary will turn them off to him. The last thing he needs to do is get hooked up with a loser. IMHO Mary Landieu is done as Senator in LA. Still, the election is going to be fun. Maybe this success will get us the Republican Naitonal Convention in two years. I am all about being there to catch the campaign money as it trickles down.

Almost like Minority Report

Vis deploying the military and all available forces to catch the DC sniper, why doesn’t some enterprising hacker cobble together a sensitive microphone, a PocketPC, a GPS card and a wifi card such that the contraptions can be placed all over as sort of a virtual neighborhood watch (er, rather listen). They could be placed on law enforcement vehicles and at likely areas of attack. The killer app (sorry) would be an algorithm that listens for sounds like gunshots and timestamps them along with the location (of the PocketPCs et al) where heard. The GPS provides the time and location info. If three or more stations hear the shot then you have a fix (i.e. the location of the shooter) based on location and time differential of the listening stations when the shot was fired. Actually if only two stations hear a shot, probable location of the shooter can be narrowed down to two points. All of these calculations can occur in real time and be used to deploy reconnaissance and law enforcement assets to the area of the shot for follow up. Come to think of it, this would be useful for general law enforcement as well as anti-sniper activities. It does not raise my civil libertarian hackles because, as a law abiding citizen, I am happy to have the police show up promptly if I have to shoot someone.

A Driving Tip

I used to get paid to drive my rich uncle's yachts. One thing I learned was that one was usually all right so long as he kept the sides and bottom of the ship from touching land. In driving around New Orleans during floods, I've found that the converse is true for one's vehicle.

Wet and Busy

...Securing friends' boats and digging out the gutter in preps for Isadore while still trying to keep things moving at work. People in NOLA tend to view hurricanes as excuses for holidays and schools and businesses start closing as the wind exceeds 20 Kts. The below email is making the rounds. I thought it lent some insight into what we go through periodically down here:

Subject: Bulletin

To ex-Louisianaians, present Louisianaians, and future Louisianaians:


Louisiana Hurricane Season Notes

We're about to enter the peak of the hurricane season. Any day now, you're going to turn on the TV and see a weather person pointing to some radar blob out in the Gulf of Mexico and making two basic meteorological points:

(1) There is no need to panic.
(2) We could all be killed.

Yes, hurricane season is an exciting time to be in Louisiana. If you're new to the area, you're probably wondering what you need to do to prepare for the possibility that we'll get hit by "the big one.''

Based on our experiences, we recommend that you follow this simple three-step hurricane preparedness plan:

STEP 1. Buy enough food and bottled water to last your family for at least three days.

STEP 2. Put these supplies into your car.

STEP 3. Drive to Nebraska and remain there until Halloween.

Unfortunately, statistics show that most people will not follow this sensible plan. Most people will foolishly stay here in Louisiana.

We'll start with one of the most important hurricane preparedness items:

HOMEOWNERS' INSURANCE: If you own a home, you must have hurricane insurance. Fortunately, this insurance is cheap and easy to get, as long as your home meets two basic requirements:

(1) It is reasonably well-built, and
(2) It is located in Nebraska.

Unfortunately, if your home is located in South Louisiana, or any other area that might actually be hit by a hurricane, most insurance companies would prefer not to sell you hurricane insurance, because then they might be required to pay YOU money, and that is certainly not why they got into the insurance business in the first place. So you'll have to scrounge around for an insurance company, which will charge you an annual premium roughly equal to the replacement value of your house. At any moment, this company can drop you like used dental floss. Since Hurricane George, I have had an estimated 27 different home-insurance companies. This week, I'm covered by the Bob and Big Stan Insurance Company, under a policy which states that, in addition to my premium, Bob and Big Stan are entitled, on demand, to my kidneys.

SHUTTERS: Your house should have hurricane shutters on all the windows, all the doors, and -- if it's a major
hurricane-- all the toilets.

There are several types of shutters, with advantages and disadvantages:

Plywood shutters: The advantage is that, because you make them yourself, they're cheap. The disadvantage is that, because you make them yourself, they will fall off.

Sheet-metal shutters: The advantage is that these work well, once you get them all up. The disadvantage is that once you get them all up, your hands will be useless bleeding stumps, and it will be December.

Roll-down shutters: The advantages are that they're very easy to use, and will definitely protect your house. The disadvantage is that you will have to sell your house to pay for them.

"Hurricane-proof'' windows: These are the newest wrinkle in hurricane
protection: They look like ordinary windows,
but they can withstand hurricane winds! You can be sure of this, because the salesman says so. He lives in Nebraska.

"Hurricane Proofing Your Property: As the hurricane approaches, check your yard for movable objects like barbecue grills, planters, patio furniture, visiting relatives, etc.. You should, as a precaution, throw these items into your swimming pool (if you don't have a swimming pool, you should have one built immediately). Otherwise, the hurricane winds will turn these objects into deadly missiles.

EVACUATION ROUTE: If you live in a low-lying area, you should have an evacuation route planned out. (To determine whether you live in a low-lying area, look at your driver's license; if it says "Louisiana,'' you live in a low-lying area.) The purpose of having an evacuation route is to avoid being trapped in your home when a major storm hits. Instead, you will be trapped in a gigantic traffic jam several miles from your home, along with two hundred thousand other evacuees. So, as a bonus, you will not be lonely.

HURRICANE SUPPLIES: If you don't evacuate, you will need a mess of supplies. Do not buy them now! Louisiana tradition requires that you wait until the last possible minute, then go to the supermarket and get into vicious fights with strangers over who get the last can of SPAM.

In addition to food and water, you will need the following supplies:

Hot Sauce, everything tastes better with Tabasco.

23 flashlights

At least $167 worth of batteries that turn out, when the power goes off, to be the wrong size for the flashlights.

Bleach.
(No, I don't know what the bleach is for. NOBODY knows what the bleach is for, but it's traditional, so GET some!)

A 55-gallon drum of underarm deodorant.

A big knife that you can strap to your leg.
(This will be useless in a hurricane, but it looks cool.)

A large quantity of raw chicken, to placate the alligators. (Ask anybody who went through Camille; after the hurricane, there WILL be irate alligators.)

$35,000 in cash or diamonds so that, after the hurricane passes, you can buy a generator from a man with no discernible teeth.

Of course these are just basic precautions. As the hurricane draws near, it is vitally important that you keep abreast of the situation by turning on your television and watching TV reporters in rain slickers stand right next to the ocean and tell you over and over how vitally important it is for everybody to stay away from the ocean.

Good luck, and remember: It's great living in Paradise!