Broussard's resignation

Jefferson Parish President Aaron Broussard video

Just two days after his Chief Adminstrative Officer Tim Whitmer stepped down in a hail of controversy, Jefferson Parish President Aaron Broussard, a lifetime politician with a career three-plus decades old, abruptly resigned from his office yesterday. In a shocking turn of events, precipitated by a months-long federal investigation in alleged improprieties in parish government, Broussard did by himself what thousands of angry homeowners had hoped he would do right after Hurricane Katrina. It was Broussard who decided he wanted to not imperil the lives of parish employees who worked the drainage pumps in Jefferson Parish. Fearing the housing complexes where they worked would not stand up to the pummeling from the hurricane's winds, Broussard ordered the men to leave their posts and evacuate the area. Many of them resisted, wanting to man the pumps despite the risk to their lives and limbs. When the drainage canals overspilled from excessive water backed up from the storm and from breaks in levees leading to Lake Pontchartrain, Jefferson Parish suffered extensive damage to homes and businesses. Broussard took the brunt of the criticism, but defended his actions as having potentially saved lives. Angry homeowners saw things differently. They surmised that had pumps been working during and after the storm, much of the billions of dollars in damages to personal and public properties would have been lessened. Broussard survived a recall petition launched against him in 2005 after the storm, but his criticism of the federal government's response in the wake of Hurricane Katrina helped him regain favor in some voters' eyes. Broussard was featured on two segments of Meet the Press with Tim Russert in the weeks after the flooding had occurred in September of 2005. On his first appearance on September 4 he made emotional statements about the death of one of his employee's mother in a St. Bernard Parish nursing home and the lack of a response to save her before she died. Broussard was challenged about the accuracy of his earlier statement on a later show on September of 25 by Russert when it was determined that statement contained glaring inaccuracies. While never disputing the discrepancies, Broussard claimed he was only repeating the story told to him by his staffers. It took Broussard two years to climb in popularity again and he narrowly escaped having to be in a runnoff against one of his more outspoken detractors only two years ago. If ever there were an example of an entrenched politician, Broussard was it. It was such a surprise to everyone in the news media that special local reports broke into regular programming throughout the day. Speculation now is rampant over whether Broussard resigned in the face of an impending federal indictment for malfeasance in office or other impropriety. Tim Coulon, a Jefferson Parish mainstay and a close confidante of Broussard, was forced to resign his position with the Louisiana Superdome Commission at the behest of Governor Bobby Jindal over allegations of wrongdoing - or the appearance of the same - not that long ago. Following Whitmer's resignation under fire and Broussard's decision to follow him, political observers are now wondering if the veritable straw that broke the camel's back wasn't a story that leaked to the news media a day after Whitmer stepped down. The story dealt with the possibly improper leasing of a Nova Scotian lodge owned by Broussard to vendors who had done extensive work with the parish government. The Metropolitan Crime Commission questioned the practice and Broussard was on the defensive just the day before he decided to quit, telling reporters he was innocent of any wrong-doing. At the time that Broussard was making his decision to resign Friday, Jefferson Parish officials were busy handing over documents to federal investigators related to the 25-year River Birch garbage disposal contract with the parish that experts suggested could be worth $160 million over the life of the contract. Between allegations of improper awarding of parish contracts and other finger pointing by critics, Broussard was in a no-win situation. He probably did himself and the parish government a great service by stepping down. Now the question is who will fill his very large shoes? Only five days ago Jose Gonzales was a middle management employee, who assisted CAO Whitmer. By Tuesday he was the CAO and with Broussard's departure is now the defacto parish president. An interim president will be named by the parish government soon and by law he or she cannot run for the permanent office. Sources suggest the election for a permanent parish president will be next February, but that will only be for the final two year's of Broussard's existing term. For the pundits it could be a very interesting race. For the voters of Jefferson Parish, it's either an embarrassment or a blessing. With the ongoing investigation ramping up, it shouldn't be long before we hear from the federal prosecutors if Broussard is in their sites for more attention. Many of us will recall Broussard as a district councilman and school board member prior to his entry into the Kenner mayor's race in 1982. That bitterly fought race against two other established politicians - Raoul "Skip" Galan and Kernan "Skip" Hand - cost Broussard dearly. It took him nearly a decade to pay off his gargantuan campaign debt. Only days after taking the oath of office, Broussard became a national celebrity when a tragic Delta plane crash occurred just outside the boundaries of the New Orleans International Airport. Beside the 146 on board the plane, eight residents in their homes or on the ground were killed in the explosion and fire that raced through the Kenner neighborhood. Broussard was given high marks for his take charge attitude and the baseball cap he wore with the "K" for the city of Kenner became an overnight best seller. Following two more successive terms as mayor, Broussard decided to venture into more powerful positions in Jefferson Parish politics. He won election to the Jefferson Parish Council and was selected as chairman from 1995 to 2003. Voters gave him the parish presidency in 2003 and he last ran for office in 2007, winning re-election without having to enter into a runoff by 1.5% of the vote. There is little doubt that he leaves behind a formidable legacy. Whether he is fortunate to stay retired and not become the target of the federal probe remains to be seen. Lips are pretty tight down on Camp Street at the Hale Boggs Federal Building, where the prosecutors led by U.S. Attorney Jim Letten have been quietly pressing forward, interviewing witnesses and pouring over large caches of documents. Who will follow Broussard as interim president and who will run for what's left of his term is anybody's guess right now. It all shapes up to be more local politics as usual, but how history will recall Broussard - as hapless victim or corrupt politician - no one can say.

Art Clokey, the animator of Gumby and Pokey, first premiered on the "Howdy Doody Show," passed away yesterday at the age of 88. Clokey resisted putting replicas of the green bendable figurine on store shelves because he didn't want critics to suggest he was only in the animation field to reap retail sales. Despite his late entry into the marketplace, Gumby and Pokey figures eventually rang up millions of dollars in sales, but not before two television series were aired 20 years apart starring the green figure with the slanting head and his horse friend. Clokey figured it took him 40 years to make substantial money from TV receipts and merchandising. Eddie Murphy's "Saturday Night Live" depiction of Gumby was well regarded by Clokey, who said Gumby needed to laugh at himself. Now that Clokey is gone, one wonders what will become of the green animation figure? I've heard of one report that says a distraught Gumby and Pokey have both gone on a bender. (Ouch.)

Thank you. Thank you, very much, Elvis

I will forever be indebted to Elvis Presley for a number of things, but foremost are my patented combination lip curl and pelvic thrust. Elvis was a star when I was just a toddler, so my recollections of him were as some sort of throwback to an earlier era when I was growing up in the Sixties. Yet, despite his lack of importance in music at that time (compared to his absolute domination in the late Fifties), everyone respected Elvis Presley as the guy who came around at the right time. He was the fresh faced Southern boy who not only could sing rhythm and blues music, but could make it accessible to other white music buyers at a time when "race" music was starting to be broadcast over mainstream radio. I still find it incredible to hear that Pat Boone's version of "Blueberry Hill" outsold Fats Domino's at one time. But that was the way the music industry was run back then. I should know because my mom and uncle ran a very successful record store at that time. My collection of Elvis albums and Elvis books all died during the flooding after Hurricane Katrina, so I now have to rely on a few greatest hits CD collections to muddle me through. There are a number of fans, women mostly I guess, who still think of Elvis as "the king," and I won't ever denigrate then for that. He was a spectacular iconic figure who inspired millions of fans both young and old alike by changing the face of popular music. He will forever be remembered for his legacy of song, although not as many people feel his work in film was as noteworthy. Frankly, I always had a more than grudging admiration for Elvis the star performer. Anyone who could star against Ann-Margret, Shelley Fabares, Juliet Prowse, Nancy Sinatra and Mary Tyler Moore had to be able to hold his own as an actor, although many of the latter scripts were pretty simplistic and left one wondering where the production values had been left in the process of making these films. In any event Elvis is dead, but he's never been bigger. He's 75 and bringing in tons of cash each year, now managed by his estate, at Graceland and through continuing sales and leasing of his images and songs. Happy Birthday, Elvis! If you ask me, when it comes to "the King," cash is definitely king!

A new year and a disturbing trend

I have just completed my second year as a blogger and noted that the first year I had posted 266 blogs. Not bad when you consider weekends and holidays, I thought to myself. But this past year the number of blog entries was half of that at 130. I am aghast. I am appalled. I am concerned. But will this change my seemingly lackadaisical approach to this blog? Probably not. I make no apologies because I am truly doing the best I can. I regret the fact I cannot add more, but I am delighted when I do have the time to add to my commentaries here. Please forgive me if I am not more steady, but I promise that I will try to make up the lack of quantity with more quality. That's what Kander and Ebb called "razzle dazzle 'em" in "Chicago. Meanwhile, happy anniversary to us. Another year for Kosher Computing and a year which already has had some very interesting things occur. Meanwhile, Twelfth Night was last night. Carnival is just around the corner and I am busy preparing manuscripts for the various balls I will narrate beginning next weekend. Be still my heart. It's Mardi Gras time in New Orleans. Meanwhile, anybody care to reveal what resolutions you've made for the new year?

Dome field advantage

After two disappointing straight losses at the hands of Dallas on a Thursday night and Tampa Bay this past Sunday, many Saints fans were beginning to believe that their team had peaked too soon. Frankly, a couple of plays late in each game might have made the difference to have helped the Saints maintain a perfect season. But perfection is not everything as Indianapolis learned this past Sunday. After all, it is far more important to keep fixed on the goal of getting to the Superbowl and to play the very best games possible in the playoffs. Frankly, the last game of the season against the Carolina Panthers on January 3 doesn't count for anything other than bragging rights about whether the Saints can defeat them twice in one season or split the two decisions. I would not be surprised to see Coach Sean Payton keep Drew Brees out of a portion of the game in order to keep him rested and out of danger of a possible injury prior to the start of the playoff season. So, surprise of all surprises last night when I tuned in to the Chicago Bears game against the Minnesota Vikings. The score in the third quarter was Chicago 16, Minnesota 0. What? I gulped hard and thought to myself "Be still my heart." The Minnesota Vikings with the fabulous Brett Favre (almost a local boy from Kiln, Mississippi) should have been way ahead of the Bears. Indeed, it didn't take long for Favre to play catchup in the remainder of the third and fourth quarters. The score was evened at 23 each and then again at 30 a piece. Then the game went into sudden death overtime. The Bears won the coin toss and elected to receive. They got down to within potential field goal range, but the kick was errant. Then the Vikings took over and they took their shot, but were denied by the tenacious Bears defense. After the Bears failed to capitalize on the following drive, Favre looked like he was about to put the game away. He tossed a short pass off to one of his receivers who added nearly ten yards on the carry when the ball was punched out of his arm by a crafty Bear defender. The ball popped out as a fumble and was jumped on by the Bears, setting up a near perfect touchdown pass into the endzone by Bear quarterback Jeff Cutler. In this case Cutler, the student, taught Favre, the master, a lesson from the playbooks. It was an incredible see-saw battle, but in the end the winner turned out to be the New Orleans Saints. Based on their 13-2 record and Minnesota's unbelievable third loss in the last four weeks, New Orleans secured home field advantage at the Superdome for what Saints fans hope will be the next two games played there before a shot at the Vince Lombardi Trophy in Miami. Nothing good ever comes from something easily obtained, but the Saints have achieved one of their major season goals by the most unlikely of friends, the same Chicago Bears team that denied them a shot at the Superbowl a couple of years back. Politics and football make strange bedfellows, it would seem.

Today marks the 80th anniversary of the founding of the Theta Theta chapter of Sigma Alpha Rho fraternity right here in New Orleans. Many of my contemporaries will recall that this high school fraternity reached its height in the late Sixties and early Seventies. After that time the relevance of high school fraternities became lessened and many Jewish students gravitated towards AZA, a B'nai Brith Youth Organization. Sadly, the local chapter lost much support from the local community and quietly died sometime in the late Seventies, as best I can tell. It's a shame because some of my best memories from high school revolved about many of the events sponsored by S.A.R. Some of my earliest writing can be found in some of the old newspapers we printed on a mimeograph machine owned by the fraternity. I learned much about putting together a newspaper as well as the necessity of selling advertising for much of the more upscale publications such as the program printed for the White Orchid Formal, held each December 29. There are no such opportunities for Jewish youth these days. The high school sorority, Sigma Theta Pi, also shut down around the same time. High school fraternities are indeed dinosaurs and have lost out to organized sports and other school-related activities. I still feel the loss, even though most of today's kids don't really know what they're missing. Many of my closest friends today were S.A.R. fraternity brothers and given the fact that I never did pledge a college fraternity, those friendships are still dear to my heart.

"A Christmas Story" explored

Every Christmas like clockwork, TBS runs 24 hours of "A Christmas Story," a 1983 picture based on the writing of Jean Shepard about the travails of an eight-year-old in search of his ultimate Christmas present, a Red Ryder range model air rifle. This "holy grail" of holiday presents becomes the quest that little Ralphie seeks in the weeks leading up to Christmas morning. Jean Shepard serves as both the writer and the narrator for this wonderful little movie that has an abundance of classic scenes. Some people may not know of the connections this film has with both New Orleans and Cleveland. Some of them will know that the film was shot in downtown Cleveland as well as at a house on the West Side of Cleveland that today serves as the official A Christmas Story Museum. Believe it or not, there is a a manufacturer of plastic leg lamps similar to the kind that figures in the movie. The president of that company decided that tying in the promotional value of that house with his product would be a great marketing tool. So, when I was still in Cleveland following the Hurricane Katrina related flooding, news stories followed the restoration and conversion of the house into a museum. Today it stands as a testament as to how a little known film could be transformed into a tourist site in a city that has very few of which to boast. Some people know that the late director of the film, Bob Clark, also wrote the film with Shepard. Clark was tragically killed two years ago by a drunk driver, but many don't know he was born right here in New Orleans, although he was raised in Fort Lauderdale. So there you have it. A Cleveland and New Orleans connection to "A Christmas Story." I didn't say this would be earthshaking, but after all, it is Christmas and that makes it all worthwhile, don't 'ya think? (Photo © 1983 MGM Studios)

Mister Bingle and Santa vs. Mr. Scrooge and the Grinch

An advertisement for Mr. Bingle, my chilhood Christmas hero

When I was but a mere lad, television was still mostly broadcast in black and white. At holiday time local TV station WDSU broadcast a five-minute holiday message from Mr. Bingle, the icon of the then powerful department store Maison Blanche. 

As legend would have it, Mr. Bingle was a small snowman brought to life by Santa Claus who wore green holly leaf wings, had red and white candy-cane striped gloves and wore an upside down ice cream cone for a hat. This imaginative creature was drummed up as a sales promotion gimmick for Maison Blanche. 

Even the initals for Mister Bingle reminded one of Maison Blanche, then the largest department store in the South. At holiday time when everyone still dressed up to go downtown, my grandmother would take me to the Maison Blanche department store window on Canal Street where special 15-minute shows would take place throughout the day. 

Mister Bingle's voice was that of Oscar Eisentrout, an unlikely cigarette chain-smoking window dresser who was drafted as the voice of the imaginary character back at its inception, suggested as 1947. Oscar's high-pitched voice could best be described as a dwarf inhaling helium. Throughout many years on TV and at the store, Oscar was assisted by many creative individuals. 

The late Al Shea, who passed away a few months ago, was known as the voice of Pete the Penguin, for example. These creative shows carried on even during my tenure at WSMB-AM on the 13th floor of the Maison Blanche Building and lasted until 1985 until Eisentrout passed away. It turns out Eisentrout, like me, was also Jewish, but that didn't stop us from enjoying the spirit of the season.

It was different for me to meet and see Eisentrout as an adult and help him prepare some of his scripts while I worked at the station. When I was a kid, it was all so magical. While my Jewish heritage did not allow me to attach much significance to the religious reasons for the celebration, I was, like all the kids of my age, attracted to the cuddly, cute and sometimes mischievous Mr. Bingle, whose image was emblazoned on the store and oftentimes on all of the holiday shopping bags. The shows truly got me into the spirit of the holiday and I looked forward to meeting Santa and hearing more about his aeronautical sleigh and reindeer. 

The Dr. Seuss book and TV classic "How the Grinch Stole Christmas" starring Boris Karloff was never read or viewed by me as a kid, although I came to appreciate it much more as an adult. Likewise, I read "A Christmas Carol" by Charles Dickens much later in school beyond the time I was a young, impressionable child. So, the images of the two archetype villains who would steal the joy from the holiday were never in my mind until much later in life. 

Today, however, I can't help but summon up all of the collective images of Christmas. Mr. Bingle and my childhood impressions of Santa stand on one side with the Grinch and Ebeneezer Scrooge on the other. It is true that I still get a bit teary-eyed when I watch the immortal "Miracle on 34th Street" starring Edmund Gwenn and a very young Natalie Wood. Others that have come along since that time: Tim Allen in "The Santa Claus," the classic film made in Cleveland of "A Christmas Story" ("You'll shoot your eye out, kid!") and even Billy Bob Thornton's "Bad Santa" have also made impressions (good or bad) that I carry with me today. 

But for me, my fondest childhood memories were watching the small black and white screen and imagining this little puppet and all of his possiblities. How I did enjoy those trappings of the holiday. I am sorry that my son, now grown, never knew the significance of Mr. Bingle nor that more of his generation or others who have followed were never able to experience the magic of the holiday through the hilarious mischief of a happy, high-pitched, flying snowman bearing a slight New Orleans accent.

Am I blue?

A pall has been cast over the city. Even though I have not ventured outside since last night, I can somehow feel a diminishment of the ardor of that collective spirit of Saints fever that reached its zenith yesterday. The "Bless You Boys" have been vanquished by "America's Team" and there seems no solace in the recognition that on any given Sunday, Monday, Thursday or Saturday one NFL team can overpower another. On reflection it may well have been overly optimistic to think that the 2009 Saints could be talked about in the same breath as the 1972 Miami Dolphins or the 2007 New England Patriots, both of whom had posted perfect regular seasons. Had New Orleans won last night, the team would have tied the regular season record Miami had enjoyed. New England, of course, won every game with the exception of the one that mattered, the Super Bowl, where they were defeated by the upstart New York Giants. I suppose any reasonable sportsfan would understand the disappointment attached to seeing a dream - no matter how impossible - vanish before one's eyes. But the Who Dat Nation has never been so close to perfection and it was reassuring to think that all of those past seasons where we let opponents run ramshackle over us or, for me, the nadir of hopelessness when the Saints went 1-15 in 1981, would be redeemed this year. That's not to say the Saints didn't manage to play good catch up ball last night. They almost pulled off yet another amazing comeback. This time, though, they had trouble pulling even with Dallas, which came out in their first two possessions with two touchdowns. Given the advantage of a Superdome filled to overflowing with diehard Saints fans, it seems hard to rationalize they couldn't get one score out of their first two possessions. Dallas controlled the clock and their destiny last night. By going 9-5, they kept themselves in the playoff picture. The Saints are already assured a first-round bye, but home field advantage is now up for grabs. Given the loss in the Superdome last night and the terrific way the team has played in away stadiums, perhaps home field advantage won't be necessary for the team to do well in the playoffs. Some analysts have suggested the Saints needed a loss in order to psychologically prepare them for the challenges ahead of having to win the rest of their remaining games and keep an eye on the prize, which is the Super Bowl. Frankly, I would have preferred a perfect season, but I will take what I can get. There is only one other team out there, Indianapolis, that has achieved 14-0 and they did it this past Thursday night. If the Saints can get through Minnesota and any other NFC teams that stand in their way, they may yet have an opportunity to have it out with our own Peyton Manning and his fabulous Colts team. The loss to the Cowboys is not as important as other factors that have affected the city like Hurricane Katrina and the related flooding four years ago. We have many challenges for this city and the people who live here. The Saints have provided amazing moments of commonality in spirit for many culturally diverse people. I suppose it was inevitable that they could and would lose. I keep telling myself that statement over and over. It has yet to sink in for I have drunk the dregs of defeat and they are indeed bitter.