$Bill, Meet Debt Slavery

The founding fathers were very concerned about debt and it's role in society. They did start the national debt, which stimulated the economy, but they also included authorized Congress to set up Bankruptcy Courts in the very first article of the Constitution. On the flipside, Thomas Paine rallied in favor of the Estate Tax as a way of preventing a permanent oligarchy/underclass in this country. Bankruptcy also made the banks much more cautious about who they made loans to.

There was a lot of give an take on issues relating to that over the centuries, but the balance started to change in the late 90's. Congress passed a bill to make bankruptcies much tougher. Bill Clinton vetoed that bill after Hillary implored him to because of the devastating effects on single parents.

Later on, under the guise of preventing fraud, Congress passed the Bankruptcy Abuse Prevention and Consumer Protection Act and George W. Bush signed it into law. Left-leaning Democrats complained it was a step on the road to Debt Slavery. One of the crooked Democrats that voted for it was none other than William "Dollar Bill" Jefferson. How many of his constituents got screwed over by that Bankruptcy Bill, especially after Katrina with (truly) underwater mortgages?

William Jefferson loved debt slavery right from the start:

About the same time, Jefferson launched one of his earliest ventures, in the rent-to-own appliance business. that was, like others that would follow, a joint project with several siblings, in this case brothers Mose and Bennie and sister Betty, a former School Board member who is now a city assessor. Through Jefferson Interests, a company they founded, the group acquired four REMCO stores starting in the early 1980s, after Jefferson had joined the Legislature.

Some called the business predatory. In 1986, Rudy Lombard, one of Jefferson's opponents in his second bid for mayor, noted in debates that some public-housing tenants in Algiers late on payments had complained of being "harassed and intimidated" by REMCO officials.

Lombard also ripped Jefferson for sponsoring a bill that would have allowed theft charges to be filed against renters who did not return appliances on time. Jefferson denied sponsoring such a bill at first, but the next day he conceded he had when reporters confronted him with the evidence.

You'd be hard pressed to find a Democrat who worked harder against the interests of his constituency than $Bill.

Open today's paper. On page A-2, William Jefferson is now getting a dose of his own medicine. He's being nailed under the Bankruptcy Bill he voted for. I'm sure he got lots of campaign contributions for doing it at the time, but now he's fucked. Good for him. Poetic justice.

Holy Cao!

New Orleans has a new congressperson. This hasn't happened since I was 6 years old.

No more $Bill and his family sucking the lifeblood out of the city. I think this kills any chance of an acquittal. Nobody is going to donate to his legal defense fund now.

Note that Malik, while he had a pretty modest vote total, did tip the election for Cao.

Joseph Cao, congratulations and good luck. Try to do what's best for the city and not what some of your backers might tell you to do. I'd love to see you get reelected.

Between Ted Stevens and $Bill, Congress just got a little more honest.

UPDATE- Oyster beat me to Holy Cao first.

Auto Industry Bailout

The big news of the day is the auto bailout being debated in Congress and the effect it had on the markets (Down below 8,000 for the first time in over 5 years). Senator Vitter has made up his mind that he wants the auto industry to burn or if they are given a bailout, it should screw over the workers as much as possible.

I wrote my only useful congressperson (Vitter and $Bill being more useless than a condom dispenser in a convent) on some of my thoughts:

Dear Senator Landrieu,

I write to you because I've read that you haven't made up your mind on the Auto industry bailout proposal being finalized. I ask that you vote for this measure when it is finalized.

Not many Louisiana jobs are at risk. It's mostly taking our money to pay for others. There are very good reasons not to vote for a bailout for the auto industry. They've had many problems over the years. The quality control through the 1980's was non-existent. They've built gas guzzlers. Their CEO's are tone-deaf, out of touch, and make horrible business decisions. They've failed to embrace change.

But I think that that's overlooking recent changes. In 2007, there was a major breakthrough in labor costs. They got a new union contract. They've brought their quality in line with Toyota (don't take my word on it, ask The Truth About Cars). It's going to take a while to work undo the damage they did with their previous cars, but they were on the road back.

Then the Wall Street Crisis hit and they were unable to get loans to put their plans into practice. They're running out of cash. If they run out, they'll be forced to file bankruptcy. A company as complex as GM doesn't stand a good chance of coming out of a bankruptcy. It will probably be sold at pennies on the dollar with hundreds of thousands (millions?) added to the unemployment rolls in the middle of the biggest economic disruption since the Great Depression.

Make no mistake, if this bill fails, the repercussions will snowball through not just the auto industry, but the entire economy. Can the financial crisis get worse? Absolutely. Remember that the Great Depression wasn't fully felt until well after the 1929 crash. This bill failing could deepen the crisis like what happened after the Smoot-Hawley Act of 1930.

It will probably be cheaper in the long run, when you factor in unemployment payments, crime, pension fund guarantees by the government, bond ratings of the state of Michigan and Detroit, etc. The worst thing that happens is some money is lost and they go under in a few years. Even then, the economy will probably have recovered enough to take the dynamite blast of a GM bankruptcy reverberating through the markets. The best scenario is you give the auto industry a fighting chance to recover.

That's all I ask for: give them a fighting chance.


Thanks for your attention to this issue,
Clay __________

I was also going to include another thought of mine: the ones most strenuously opposed to the bailout are the ones most ignorant about the industry. Yeah, Rick Wagoner and Bob Lutz are assholes (especially for that "crock of shit" comment), but it's hard to imagine someone else doing appreciably better given the hand they were dealt. They are far and away better than Roger Smith, whose catastrophic tenure GM still hasn't recovered from. Yes, that is the same Roger Smith as Roger and Me fame.

As a side note, I've been pretty interested in the auto industry for a while. Every year at Tulane, I worked on the Mini-Baja car. When I was a sophomore, I almost went to Dresden for a semester abroad that could have ended with an internship at BMW's engine design department. Had things broken a little differently for me, I might be working in the auto industry right now. As it is, I've stayed a member of the Society of Automotive Engineers, just out of interest, even though I have nothing to do at work in the auto industry. My best wishes go to my fellow mechanical engineers in the auto industry, whatever company they're with. I fear they're going to need it.

Yesterday's vote

Voted yesterday. Depended heavily on Dangerblonde's slate of judges. I voted the ticket when it came to the judges.

Jeffery points out the irony of New Orleans voters selecting an indicted congressmen and voting to fund the Inspector General the same night.

The new school board looks underwhelming, to say the least.

My big question: The Secretary of State's Election Results show $Bill and Cedric Richmond. Did the media screw up their projection? What gives?

UPDATE- Just to make sure I wasn't going insane (always a distinct possibility), I read through the precinct by precinct results for anomalies. The highest precinct total was actually for Moreno, not Richmond. As a further sanity check, I dumped the results to Excel and summed up the precinct ballots and got the same totals as the Secretary of State.

UPDATE 2- Oops. Forgot Jefferson Parish results where Moreno got another 5K votes and Richmond only got 1K.

UPDATE 3- Best wrap-up of $Bill making the runoff.

I was just thinking that I hadn't heard anything from Jim Letten in a while...

He was busy. And now we know what he was working on. Mose Jefferson indicted on 7 counts.

3 Sets of Heroes and a Crooked Bastard

6 injured in crew boat accident. Have no fear, the Coast Guard is here. This could be me one day, so kudos to them.

NO Firefighters Going Home. Reconstruction of the New Orleans Firehouses thanks to volunteers and the Leary Foundation and others.

How black children see whites. Repeat of the famous bobo doll experiment that led to desegregation.

Jason Berry's Gambit cover story about William Jefferson's career. In the end: "[After being confronted with evidence by the FBI] Jefferson reportedly sank back on his couch and uttered the words that could become his political epitaph:

'What a waste."

What a waste indeed.

Hurricane Dean / Hurricane "Da Hat"

The Corps is now hard at work trying to drown Canada and St. Louis...

Also, Eddie Jordanlost his appeal. The taxpayers of New Orleans will have to pay for his mistakes. Remember, he used William Jefferson's Chief of Staff to turn the DA's office into a political patronage position for $Bill... My favorite hire was replacing their a key ballistics expert with someone who's only experience was "some office work at a law firm and as a lifeguard." (Hit the Eddie Jordan tag to pull up the archives on him...)

PDF copy of the Court's findings. Is it just me or does this document make him look like an even bigger moron? Any lawyers want to chime in?

Oliver Thomas

I feel genuinely sorry for Ole' Thomas. He was holding back tears during that press conference. He showed genuine contrition and resigned (ARE YOU TAKING NOTES, VITTER !!! JEFFERSON!!!).

btw, here's a link to $Bill's personal finances...

The Special Election is October 20th. Let's get some good candidates in the race.

Drawing from the blogroll, here's my short list:
* Bart (Seconding Ray)
* Brian Denzer (just imagine him ripping on Riley)
* Matt McBride (just imagine him holding hearings with the Corps where they're confronted with a politician who knows more math than addition and subtraction!!!)

Here are the qualifications for the job:

(1) A councilmember shall be a citizen of the United States and a qualified elector of and domiciled in the City and shall not hold any other public office or position, except that the councilmember may hold the office of Notary Public, office in the military or naval forces or a position as a public school, public college, or public university administrator, teacher, instructor, or professor. Candidates for councilmember-at-large shall have been domiciled in the City for two years immediately preceding their election. Except as provided in paragraph (2) of this Section, candidates for district councilmember shall have been domiciled in the districts from which elected for at least two years immediately preceding their election. Any councilmember who ceases to be domiciled in the district from which elected shall thereby vacate the office.

Justice for Jefferson

So, Danatus King has founded the "Justice for Jefferson" committee and there are already tons of blind defenses of Jefferson. Thankfully, the Louisiana Weekly is tempering their coverage of the indictments.

I'd like to form my OWN committee. I'd like to call it the JUSTICE FOR JEFFERSON committee. Here are our bumper stickers:


I'd like to state, for the umpteenth time, that Jefferson has been well known as a crook BEFORE I WAS EVER BORN!!!

$Bill has his assets frozen, pleads not guilty

Well, those are the developments thus far. He's had his assets frozen (I'll bet there was some snickering in the back of that courtroom!) and he's pled not guilty.

Some idiots are already blindly defending $Bill. You knew this was going to happen.

This is one of the better articles about Jefferson and his effect on the city. Hat tip to Got Law.

Another article about the Jefferson family and their intricate political history.

Jefferson's Honorable Explanation!

We finally have it!

It was Jimmy Dean's Sausage on a stick wrapped in cash.

"On the upside, we know what it takes for the Federal Government to pay attention to a black man from New Orleans..."

More at Comedy Central

What I think/hope will happen with $Bill

What's going to happen with the Dollar Bill Indictment? Here's my best guess/hope:

> The Feds want his ass. They have put together a mountain of evidence against him. Way more than they needed. But, they only scratched the surface on his schemes. It will be very interesting to see what happens with the rest of Jefferson's Progressive Democrats/family.

> Jefferson isn't about to resign. Also, he's many things but he isn't dumb. People were like, 'what sort of an idiot would store marked bill in his freezer?' Well, it had nothing to do with idiocy. He has been getting away with shakedowns like this since BEFORE I WAS BORN!!! After a while, you just get complacent. He also didn't think anyone would ever have the balls to go after him, given the network he's set up over the years.

> The network. Oh boy. The "Progressive Democrats" (PD's) and family members. These people are about as dedicated to Dollar Bill as the Mahdi Army is to Muqtada al-Sadr. They will defend him to the last. More importantly, they'll make sure nobody stabs him in the back. For example, let's suppose Nagin were to come out against Dollar Bill. Eddie Jordan would immediately take a keen interest in garbage contracts and Greg Meffert's actions at city hall... There are many more DB-supporters scattered all over Louisiana willing to watch his back. The Feds need to take as many of them down as possible, or else the prosecution will be in vain.

> The money. Dollar Bill has been hurting for cash. His defense fund is thin, he's deep in debt, and the Feds are watching, so he can't raise money by his preferred means [freezers full of bribe money].

> The Congressional Black Caucus. The big wildcard. They supported Dollar Bill in his reelection last fall. They sent down many staffers that manned his operations, but they were a bit underwhelming in their cash contributions. We'll see what they do.

> The defense. Yell all day and all night about Bush, Gonzalez and race. And you know what, that will resonate with a lot of people for a long time. It will serve as a huge distraction, but it will only do so much. Bush doesn't give a damn about his legacy or his own party (look at the immigration bill). He's burned all bridges and he's living on his own little island, where he occasionally lobs artillery shells back to the mainland. This round has Jefferson's name all over it and there's no stopping it. Also, the thin defense fund really ties Jefferson's hands behind his back. The Feds know this.

> A plea deal. If he had a huge defense fund, Jefferson could plead down and accept a deal that kept a lot of his network and family members out of the slammer, but he has no leverage with the Feds. As long as his legal defense fund remains empty, he's fucked with a capital F. The best plea deal he's going to get is going to be double-digit years, probably no less than 20 years in prison.


My guess is Dollar Bill won't resign. He won't accept a plea deal. He's going to drag this thing on for YEARS. It'll be a PR-nightmare for South Louisiana. My only hope is he drags this thing to trial and half of the political class gets indicted as co-conspirators. Eddie Jordan, C. Ray Nagin, Harry Lee (that endorsement gets more suspicious every time I look at it), the Cynthias, Derrek Shephard, and company could all end up with their own little legal problems. They'd play the role of the dinosaurs, the feds play the role of the meteorite, and the little, honest guys (like John Kennedy) would play the role of the mammals. Once the dino's die, the mammals take over!

Dollar Bill Nailed!

William Jefferson Indicted.

This is huge. I honestly hope they don't plea deal this one out. The Feds are claiming 11 different bribery cases. I hope they go into every single lurid detail in a court of law. Also, they need to lock up as many of his clan members as possible.

BTW- This photo is from "The Jefferson Report," a propaganda rag sent to my mailbox. The mailing was "prepared, published and mailed at taxpayer expense," therefore, I get to use it for whatever I want. American taxpayers hold the copyright for the document. Suck it!

UPDATE- I was working on a powerpoint presentation a while ago. I had hoped to have it finished by the time he was indicted, but I got busy and there was never really any news on him, so I slacked off.


Here's one of the slides I did finish. Take a close look. And this isn't even CLOSE to being comprehensive.

Dollar Bill is more akin to Tony Soprano than Tom DeLay. DeLay, Randal Cunningham, and crew were your average, run of the mill crooked pols. Efficient and proficient pols (when it comes to being crooked, not being good politicians), but Dollar Bill is a whole different kind of animal. The Feds indicted him on 11 different schemes!!! They whipped out RICO on his ass. I hope they take down as many of his relatives and connections as they possibly can.

Dear God:

Please let the Feds indict Eddie Jordan as part of the William Jefferson raid. You'll save many innocent lives in the process.

Thanks,
Clay

Profiles in Corruption: Eddie "The Hat" Jordan

Edward J. Jordan Junior

Known Aliases:
"Eddie Jordan"
"The Hat" (for his attire during the Edwards case)

* Practiced law with William J. "Dollar Bill" Jefferson. Upon Jefferson's rise to political power, Jordan became his heir-apparent. Jefferson wanted someone preselected to succeed him in case something happened (like jail time) before his daughters were old enough to replace him.

* Since Jefferson played a critical role in delivering Louisiana for President Clinton, the President repaid the favor by appointing Jordan a US Attorney for the Eastern District of Louisiana. Jefferson wanted Jordan in a position to squash any charges against himself or his cronies.

* First came to prominence for being part of the team that put former governor Edwards behind bars. The press were drawn to his mustache, derby hat, and sharp suits. What isn't widely know is he slept through most of the proceedings. Lenten did the heavy lifting for him.

* Retired from working for the feds to prepare for running for office. His opening came when Harry Connick Sr. decided to retire from his longtime tenure as Orleans Parish District Attorney.

* Jordan faced a crowded field in the general election and made it to the runoff against Dale Atkins (Connick's Clerk of Court). He won a very tight runoff because of endorsements by Jefferson and a surprise, but halfhearted endorsement from Nagin. His campaign platform was witness protection, victim protection, and the establishment of a "public integrity unit." He pledged to have his investigators visible at victims' funerals, etc.

* His tenure started off very poorly. He appointed an assistant who didn't meet the residency requirement. When confronted by the press, he claimed she was hired as an executive assistant, thus except from the residency rule. Another of his hires, Sal Palmisano, was notorious for getting upteen DUI's and was let go.

* Another investigator he hired, Richard Chambers, Jr. was a "deadbeat dad" who owed $11,000 in back payments. It's worth noting Chambers Sr. is the treasurer of Jefferson's political machine, the Progressive Democrats.

* Eddie Jordan was spotted dining at Ruth's Chris (among other restaurants) with a convicted felon still on probation.
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* Jordan lined his pocket with internet advertising deals from local attorneys on a pseudo-official website.
http://kevin.lexblog.com/2004/02/internet-advertising-sponsorships/new-orleans-da-cashing-in-on-internet-advertising/


* Pissed off a bunch of rich white kids by using a crack house law to go after the promoters of raves. I remember Uptown being flooded with "Raving is not a crime" stickers.
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* Dwight Deal, Jordan's Chief Homicide Investigator was busted by the feds for blackmailing female witnesses for sex. That's right, he'd go up to female witnesses and basically say, 'sleep with me or I'll turn you in to the people you're scheduled to testify against.' My favorite part about the whole incident: Jordan's spokesperson Letrice Dupre said Deal was, "a model employee." Yes Ms. Dupre, Dwight Deal was a model employee at that office!
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* The same day Deal was put on leave, he lost a lawsuit by 40 former employees and was forced to pay $4 million. He more than 60 employees of the DA's office and replaced them all with black employees. The fired employees sued Jordan, alleging reverse discrimination and age discrimination. The kicker is, Jordan doesn't have to pay the fine. The Orleans Parish taxpayers have to. OUR MONEY has to pay for his racism/incompetance. My favorite instance of discrimination was Connick's primary fingerprint and ballistics expert replaced with an employee whose only previous experience was as "a lifeguard and some office work at a law firm." HA! He has yet to budget the money for the payment.
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* Walked out on an ABC interview. He was asked if the DA's office bears any blame for how broken the criminal justice system is in New Orleans. He got up and walked out saying, "They're stupid. They're not honest questions."
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* If you think that's bad, that's just the stuff I could PROVE. If I went into the the stuff people whisper about him, this post would be 30 times as long. If I were to sum up Jordan, I'd say he was a well-dressed emperor with no clothes. Given New Orleans' recent track record (Nagin and Jefferson) I think that might just guarantee him reelection.

Other Citations:
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(Sorry on being sorta lazy about the hyperlinks. There are a lot of them.)