A Shepherd who lost his way

It seems somewhat ironic that a man named Shepherd could be lost, but the truth is that State Senator Derrick Shepherd is in full-blown meltdown now and no one, not even his closest supporters or ex-girlfriend, can save him. Shepherd, already under federal indictment for alleged money laundering, added to his woes over the weekend when he was accused by former girlfriend Thaise Ashford, 29, of having broken into her home in the middle of the morning, punched her and stolen $100 and her cell phone. When Jefferson Parish Sheriff Deputies went to Shepherd's home in answer to the complaint, they allegedly found him in the company of two women, one of whom was performing a provocative dance for the Marrero Democrat. That alone is not worthy of his being arrested, but when the deputies executed a search warrant, they found Ashford's cell phone inside his home. His arrest early Saturday morning caused heads to turn because the terms of his release on a federal bond seemed to be clearly broken. That would mean that Shepherd would have to forfeit his freedom and spend the remainder of the time behind bars leading up to his federal trial on October 6. After a day in the slammer Shepherd was released early Sunday morning under house arrest with a monitoring ankle bracelet. A hearing was hurriedly arranged on Tuesday in front of a federal magistrate and anxious lawyers, reporters and voters gathered inside the chambers to hear what fate would await Shepherd. But then the unexpected happened. Placed under oath and on the stand before U.S. Magistrate Louis Moore, Jr., Ashford recanted her story. She said she had invited Shepherd over to her home to reconcile as a couple, but that he was late and she became angry and called the Sheriff's Office to file a false complaint. Ashford asked that all charges be dropped against Shepherd and filed an afidavit on his behalf. Prosecutors and Sheriff's Deputies were caught off guard. Meanwhile, Moore ordered that Shepherd be placed in a halfway house until he could sort it all out. That's where the whole brouhaha stands as of now. Ashford may be prosecuted for filing false charges, but no one is commenting on that just yet. Shepherd may be able to maintain his freedom, but not without a major fight. And then there's the federal trial in the fall. He maintains his innocence on all of the charges and says that the latest round including alleged breaking and entering, theft and battery charges are without merit. He may just be right. Or at least halfway right.

The Jews of Natchez

Temple B'nai Israel, 213 South Commerce Street

It is obvious to one who examines the history of Natchez that the importance of the Jewish community was notable. Jewish merchants were among the most important that established Natchez as a major center of trade, beginning in the late 18th Century. Several decades later in 1843, many of the wealthy Jewish families of Natchez banded together and founded the first permanent Jewish house of worship in Mississippi, Temple B'nai Israel (Children of Israel). Just after the Civil War ended, the congregation purchased a plot of land in downtown Natchez at South Commerce and Washington Streets. Quickly affiliated as a charter member of the Union of American Hebrew Congregations that led the Reform movement, Temple B'nai Israel continued to serve the needs of the Jewish community there until a fire destroyed the building in 1903. As a testament to the commitment on the part of the Jews to reestablish their presence in Natchez in short order, a new structure was hurriedly erected just two years later in 1905 paid for by funds raised in both the Jewish and Christian communities. But the lasting spirit of the Jews of Natchez failed to consider the possibility that their community might one day leave their city perched high on the banks of the Mississippi River. Events in 1908 set a trend that has, unfortunately, continued to this day. After the ubiquitous cotton crop so essential to Natchezians was hit hard by the boll weevil and the Mississippi River overflowed its banks, flooding the downtown area, Jewish merchants and their families began to flee for the safety of other cities. In less than 25 years only one third of its former 450 Jewish families remained. The once large, burgeoning Jewish community in Natchez is down to as few as 10 families. As it turns out, religious services are held just twice a month on alternating Sabbaths with the help of a traveling rabbi. On several occasions the synagogue was in peril of losing its status as one of the founding members of the UAHC (now the Union for Reform Judaism) due to its inability to pay dues. In recent years the Museum of the Southern Jewish Experience has taken over the physical plant and installed an exhibit on the Jews of Natchez. The museum plans to operate it as a satellite facility once it is no longer utilized for regular worship services. In this way the historic temple will continue to serve as a source of information and a font of historical research for those who are interested in the glorious past of a community that has all but disappeared. For more details on Temple B'nai Israel, check out the digital archive from the Goldring/Woldenberg Institute of Southern Jewish Life: Digital Archive

A trace of Natchez

Greetings from a city which is three years older than New Orleans and wherein is found the largest concentration of antebellum mansions in the country. I have spent several tranquil days in Natchez, the terminus of the famed Natchez Trace and a place steeped in early American history. There is a tendency here to take things a little too easy, to get caught up in the slow-moving and staid qualities of this picturesque place. For a harried New Orleanian to take time out to explore a picture gallery at a Presbyterian church, for example, would definitely seem out of place. But the picture gallery - a photographic representation of two major photographers' work - was one of the best experiences and on the same level as one would expect at the Smithsonian or other top-grade museum. There was a significant Jewish influence in Natchez that sprang up early in its history. Many of the city's top merchants were Jewish and the hotel at which I stayed, the Eola, was founded by the Levy family, who owned a retail outlet next door to the hotel on North Pearl Street. Sadly, only ten Jewish families are left to maintain one of the oldest Jewish congregations in the South, Temple B'nai Israel. (More on that tomorrow.) A ride in a horse-drawn carriage is something that I usually think of as low priority, but I must admit that the guides in Natchez seem to be on top of their game. The 40-minute tour was informative, humorous and relaxing. Food in Natchez is, well, okay. I haven't been knocked out by the kitchens here or by any chef doing superlative work, but it has been palatable. Servers are pleasant and they do make the meal go smoothly. They try very hard, even those serving breakfast in the Eola Hotel. The Natchez Trace affords several incredible opportunities for exploring including Emerald Mound, the second largest Indian mound in the U.S. Used for ceremonies and games, the very tall plateau with two hills on either side resembles a modern day football or lacrosse configuration. There are lots of things to see along the Trace, although I didn't have a lot of time to do more than see Emerald Mound and Mount Locust, one of the inns where travelers stayed while hiking along the path that led back to Pittsburgh. There are many antebellum mansions to see here including the Stanton Manor and Melrose, but the place I chose to visit yesterday was the William Johnson House maintained by the National Parks Service. Johnson was a freed slave who was known as the "barber of Natchez." He not only owned sizeable real estate holdings, but also owned a plantation with slaves, something that was not as unusual as one might expect. In any event, that home was quite revealing because of Johnson's diaries, which were presented to give an insight into life in Nineteenth Century Natchez. It's all part of the sleepy charm of this quaint city.

The Causeway Two-Step and The Last Exit

Ah, yes. I know that I'm back in the land of dreamy dreams and the former playground of the Kingfish. All I need do is scan the recent headlines dealing with the Causeway Commission, the agency that maintains what used to be the longest bridge in the world. It is a tangled tale of alleged inebriation and suspicious behavior on behalf of enforcement officers in the way they handled an incident with the mayor of Mandeville, where the 24-mile span ends on the North Shore. Both small and large players have paid the price in terms of losing their jobs over the fallout from this fiasco. And now comes news that the former police chief of Kenner will reap a huge financial windfall in the coming years. Where to start? Should I talk of Tulane football star Eddie Price, Sr.? Price, who later joined the NFL's New York Giants, was the Green Wave's gridiron hero from 1946 to 1949. His 1948 single season and career rushing records still stand on the books as the greatest at Tulane, my alma mater. When Price retired from the world of professional sports, he literally set up shop at the edge of the Tulane campus, the scene of his former athletic prowess. A small eatery, beer hall and pinball joint, Eddie Price's was the gathering place for Tulane and Loyola students who wanted to relax, smoke cigarettes and enjoy a burger. A number of pinball players there attested to some alleged minor form of gambling going on where numbers of games would result in payoffs. It seemed a little shady at times, but it was business as usual there for many years and Tulane never seemed to have many problems with its former star running the place, which also sold some grocery and convenience items, if memory serves. In 1972 all of that changed. The night manager was shot and killed in a robbery attempt gone bad and Eddie Price, Sr., overcome with grief, soon closed the popular spot, making an opportunity for another small eating place located two blocks away up Zimple Street to take over the lease at the corner of Broadway. As a result, The Boot became the established late night pub adjacent to the Tulane campus and has been a fixture there for over 30 years. It was only a few years later that Price died of a heart attack at the very young age of 53. I've often thought that the shooting at the place that bore his name may have contributed to his demise. Fast forward a few years later and the name of Eddie Price, Jr. begins to make the political rounds, his popularity fueled by the legend of his dad's gridiron performances. Price, Jr. was elected to several low level offices before becoming mayor of Mandeville. A few months ago Hizzoner crashed through an unopened gate in the toll plaza of the Causeway and drove off with his lights off on his city-furnished SUV. He was pulled over by two Causeway Police officers a bit up the road and, despite admitting to having had a few drinks and exhibiting behavior consistent with drunk driving, he was never arrested or even required to take a field sobriety test. Instead, he was allowed to call someone to drive him home and move his car. Officers checked with their supervisor and he woke up the Causeway Police Chief to inquire what to do with the man whose signature appears on the bottoms of their paychecks each week. Later, it was alleged that Price had been stopped on at least one other occasion and allowed to drive off despite being inebriated. Eventually, one of the officers resigned. Two others were disciplined and later fired. The internal investigation lauched by
Causeway Police Chief Felix Loicano found him at fault partially, even though all he advised the supervisor to tell the officers was to be discrete, but do their duty. When it was all over Loicano was compelled to resign. Price agreed to pay for repairs to the toll plaza gate, thought to be at least $600-$700 and was issued a citation that cost him another $250 or so. The public outcry was so great that Price thought it best to turn in his city vehicle. Yesterday, Loicano's successor was named: none other than former Kenner Police Chief Nick Congemi, Jr., who had a tempestuous battle for mayor of Kenner a few years ago and retired. The thought of heading up another police department and a $90,000 a year salary proved too tempting to Congemi to stay out of consideration. Because of a nepotism law in effect at the Causeway Commission, Congemi's son, an employee for less than a year, will be forced to resign his post so that his dad can accept his new position. Meanwhile, Mayor Eddie Price, Jr. is the butt of jokes with labels like "Fast Eddie" and he is still in power with no apparent problems. Meanwhile, at least five people will be out of jobs and the beat goes on. It's all part of politics as usual as the Causeway Two-Step is all the rage these days.
Randy Pausch, the Carnegie Mellon professor whose "Last Lecture" inspired millions and who bravely fought pancreatic cancer for the past two years, finally succumbed to the deadly disease earlier this morning at his Virginia home. He was just 47 and leaves behind a grieving widow, two young boys and a toddler daughter. For those of you who did not know about Pausch, I strongly suggest you search his amazing life on the Internet. My dad died as a result of pancreatic cancer, so anytime I see someone in his prime struck down by this virulent disease I am especially saddened.

Bulldozer drama, Obama and a Golden Mama

It's been a frantic past few days for those of us following Democratic presidential hopeful Barack Obama as he jets back and forth meeting with American military advisers and with Middle East leaders. It was interesting to see him wear a yarmulka (skullcap) at Yad Vashem, the Holocaust Memorial in Israel, as he paid homage to the millions of dead and righteous Gentiles honored there. While Obama was in Jordan on his way to Israel, yet another Arab Israeli bent on wreaking havoc with a bulldozer went on a rampage. He was shot dead by Israeli border police in the heart of Jerusalem not far from the King David Hotel, where Obama stayed. Thankfully, there were no deaths other than the assailant in this vicious attack, but at least 16 people were injured, one seriously, including an infant baby and her mother. The fact is it could have been much worse had the police not acted swiftly. According to published reports, the 22-year-old assailant was an East Jerusalem Arab who held an Israeli identification card. It was reported that his uncle is a member of the Palestinian Authority Parliament presently jailed in Israel. This second attack, like the first on July 3, attempted to inflict maximum casualties by selecting a bus filled with passengers. Were it not for alert driving on the part of the bus driver, the number of injured could have been much higher and several deaths could have occurred. According to Jerusalem Mayor Uri Lupolianski, this second attack could mean much more scrutiny in the hiring of Arabs to do heavy construction work in Jerusalem or elsewhere about the country.
In the meantime, another force to be reckoned with in the past, Estelle Getty, a star on TV's "The Golden Girls," passed away quietly from the effects of dementia on Tuesday. Getty, who played Sophia, a Sicilian mother to Bea Arthur's Dorothy on TV was born Estelle Scher to Jewish Polish immigrants in New York in 1923. She got her start in the Yiddish theatre scene there. As a teenager she performed in the Catskills doing stand-up, but struggled as an actress for many years. It was late in life when she achieved success playing a Jewish mother in Harvey Fierstein's "Torch Song Trilogy" on Broadway. That led to her audition for NBC's "The Golden Girls," which garnered her seven nominations for Emmys and three for Golden Globes during its run from 1985 to 1992. She won one of each: a Golden Globe in 1986 and an Emmy in 1988. Getty made a career playing mothers of every type and description. She also starred in the forgetable Sly Stallone comedy "Stop! Or My Mom Will Shoot" and had minor roles in "Tootsie," "Mask" and "Mannequin." She began suffering from Lewy body dementia about eight years ago, which was erroneously reported by some tabloids as Alzheimer's or Parkinson's Disease. Getty was 84 at the time of her death, but she would have turned 85 in three more days. In her honor Lifetime Channel has announced it will run ten episodes of "The Golden Girls" on Friday, July 25. Fans can vote for their favorite episode on the cable channel's website and the episode that has the most fan votes will run last.

Is Governor Jindal looking to become Veep?

Although he continues to deny that he is interested in becoming John McCain's running mate, Louisiana Governor Bobby Jindal, the youngest sitting governor, is having another audience with the Republican presumptive nominee tomorrow. This has raised a number of eyebrows because McCain is thought to be well ahead in the state and having a private audience with Jindal on a second occasion seems, well, somewhat unnecessary. This continues to fuel speculation that Jindal is on the short list of Vice-Presidential candidates for the McCain ticket. "I have the job that I've always wanted," Jindal has been quoted as saying and I believe that he speaks the truth there. No one, however, can be expected to withstand the intense amount of pressure that will be put to him by the McCain team should they decide he will be an effective counter against Barack Obama and whoever he chooses as a running mate on his ticket. It would seem to me that Jindal could campaign with McCain for the relatively short period between the Republican Convention and the election in the fall without any lasting fallout in the state executive...unless he and McCain should win. Obviously, then, he would have to resign and Lt. Governor Mitch Landrieu would step right into the governor's mansion. Frankly, that's not a bad scenario. I have known Mitch for decades (his father is former H.U.D. Secretary and New Orleans mayor "Moon" Landrieu and his sister Mary is one of the two U.S. Senators from the state). He would make an excellent choice as governor and could sweep into office without fearing a challenge from the northern electorate of the state (Shreveport and Monroe in particular), who tend to regard anyone from New Orleans as a godless heathen. Mitch lost out to Mayor Ray Nagin in the last race for New Orleans mayor, but he mounted a clean campaign, despite a lot of opportunities to use less than gentlemanly tactics. As the head of a number of state agencies, Mitch has performed well and he would continue to bring integrity to the office should Jindal resign. Of course, this is all pure speculation. The governor says he's not going and John McCain's not talking either. So, why is McCain headed here when he has such a lot of ground to cover in his presidential campaign? It does make one think.

Speaking of governors...Former four-time Louisiana governor Edwin Edwards, serving his time in federal prison for , is hoping to hear from President George W. Bush as to whether his sentence will be commuted and he be issued a presidential pardon. Even if Bush fails to act on the pardon, Edwards, 80, will be out of the pen in 2011. That's plenty of time for him to think about a fifth term in 2012, although as a convicted felon, he may no longer be eligible to run. In Louisiana politics anything is possible. But it begs the question, how can you make a ham kosher?

The latest spyware that masks as antivirus

I'm not sure that any of you have been hit by a new program called Antivirus 2008 or XP Antivirus 2008, but if you have, you'll know of the problems associated with what properly would be called spyware. Spyware that masks itself as an antivirus program? Well, yes, and why not? For those of us remembering the "good old days" when Microsoft security was a bigger joke than it is today and viruses were a daily occurrence, the necessity of an anti-virus program was unquestioned as a best practice. Today, with beefed up security in Microsoft operating systems like Windows XP with Service Pack 2 (or for you who were unlucky enough to have upgraded to Service Pack 3 with its many foibles) and Windows Vista with or without Service Pack 1, the biggest threat to computer security comes not from viruses, but from spyware. Spyware is in a way so big a problem and with so many permutations, it is not unlike talking about the fight against cancer. Cancer can strike in a variety of ways and can spread slowly from one organ to another or metathesize quickly throughout a body. Spyware can be innocuous or dangerous. It really depends on what kind of spyware hits unlucky victims as to how disabled their security will be or whether personal information could be compromised that could potentially be used for identity theft or criminal activity. The XP Antivirus 2008 program features a logo that resembles the security logo used in Windows XP and uses several ingenious popups that make it appear that normal computer activity is in reality viruses. It "finds" these "infections" and then offers to remove them for a license fee. I've even seen it emulate a blue screen of death (or BSOD) in order to scare computer owners into clicking on their product. People whose computers are hijacked in this manner oftentimes will pay these criminals because they believe it is necessary. There is no online or phone support. Once they get paid, they are nowhere to be found. The only effective way to fight these charges is to get in contact with your credit card company and dispute any charges that are made to your account immediately. I've been checking the best way to remove XP Antivirus 2008 and I can tell you that I have had some field success with SUPERAntispyware (Home Page), which has a free home user edition. SUPERAntispy also offers upgrades to its Professional Edition at $29.95 per year. AVG Antivirus Free Edition 8.0 is also very good, but comes without any phone and very limited online support. I've also found that AVG 8.0 Free Edition will stop printing through Internet Explorer 7.0 if upgraded from AVG 7.5 edition on a Windows Vista computer. Using an alternative browser like Mozilla Firefox 2.0 or 3.0 will correct the problem. AVG is also now pushing its Professional Edition, which can cost $59.99 for two years. That's not a bad price when compared to McAfee or Symantec. In any event, please be careful of anything that suddenly appears on your computer and never, never click on any popups that are not from a known application like Norton, McAfee, Panda, Trend Micro, AVG, etc. or from Windows itself. If you're not sure, click the red "x" in the upper corner of the window. If it's a legitimate popup from Windows or an anti-virus program, it should identify itself in the blue bar at the top of the popup or window. If you have any doubt of the origin, call your nearest computer tech and ask. A professional will let you know in just a minute or so over the phone if he (or she) believes it is spyware or a downloader virus. You should not be expected to pay for this service. Any professional who wants a fee for a phone consultation like this is in my opinion too greedy to be worth having as your adviser. Find someone else you can trust. In the meantime, I say good luck and to the spyware good riddance!