Sep 30
And the Winner Is….
Sources tell me to expect official returns to be posted around 9:15- 9:30 PM.
Get ready.
Turn-out seems very strong. We may be looking at record turn-out in some precincts.
Click here to watch the results as the pour in.
Sep 29
It’s the Final Countdown!
Election predictions, LSU football game predictions.
Sep 27
What Do You Think Now?
Sep 27
Roosevelt Johnson
Sep 27
Jacques Roy
Sep 27
Charles F. Smith
Sep 27
Delores Brewer
Sep 27
Joe Fuller
Sep 27
John Sams
Sep 27
Alice “Red” Hammond
Sep 27
Maltuzi Holdings, LLC a.k.a. NameKing.Com
A few weeks ago, I wrote about how I was surprised and dismayed to find the domain name www.cenlamar.com was purchased by a company called Maltuzi Holdings, L.L.C.
Since then, I have learned a little bit more about Maltuzi. I’ve been contacted by a number of different people and businesses who have also had their domain name scooped up by Maltuzi. They seem to be experts at this.
Someone called me yesterday and told me that Maltuzi purchased their small business’s domain name on the day it went up for renewal. Their business (a flower shop, I believe) had owned the domain for seven years. They used it in all of their advertising.
I received this e-mail today:
“I don’t know if you’re aware of the Trenton Duckett case in Florida. Trenton is a 2 yr. old boy who his mother claimed was taken from his bedroom while she and some friends watched a movie. About a week and a half after he went missing, his 21-yr. old mother, who is now the prime suspect, killed herself in her grandparents home. She was uncooperative with police, left vague notes, refused a polygraph and had other odd or suspect behaviors. They still have not found Trenton.This case has really been bugging me and this morning I wondered why I hadn’t thought to offer to set up a website for these people or if they even had one. So when I went to check on TrentonDuckett.com, I found it was taken by Maltuzi Holdings on September 9, the day AFTER the mother killed herself. In short, (and in my opinion) these people are scum. What’s even a little bit worse (if it can get worse) is that when you go TO trentonduckett.com it comes up with all of these links for things like real estate, mortgages, airline tickets and other things people shop for. Well, these losers have it so that those links come up with the domain name inserted in them. For instance, if you were looking for shoes, it would say Maltuzi Holdings has shoes! So, you guessed it, it says things like “Maltuzi Holdings has Trenton” and “Looking for Trenton?” Scum. Absolute scum.”
Well, it certainly seems like Maltuzi just uses keyword searches to pick up domains, milk them for traffic, and then (hopefully) sell them for a premium. Unfortunately, there doesn’t seem to be any real method to their madness. They buy the domain names of existing businesses (which, I imagine, probably inspires many business owners to pick up the phone and call their lawyer). They bought CenLamar.com, and they didn’t even know what it meant. And it looks like they also bought trentonduckett.com, because the missing boy was in the news– and perhaps they felt that there was money to be made in someone else’s misery.
We should protest! I don’t have any problem with their business buying domain names, but when you purposely co-opt someone’s identity and when you use the name of a missing baby to make money, well, I think you need to answer questions about your professional ethics.
Maltuzi Holdings, LLC’s listed e-mail address is admin@maltuzi.com. I found their phone number somewhere, but now I can’t seem to locate it.
For people who have had their domains purchased by Maltuzi, I’m not sure if this really made a difference (but I like to think it did). Here’s the letter I wrote:
To Whom It May Concern:My name is Lamar White, Jr. I attempted to contact your company earlier tonight, and I was directed straight to a cell phone voice mailbox.
Your company recently purchased the domain name CenLamar.com, a product of my imagination, obviously named after the blogsite I created in March of 2006, considering the site’s top searches inventory.
That said, I hope that we can reach a cooperative agreement regarding my intellectual property before we need to involve employment lawyers regarding your company’s decision to co-opt my brand name and identity.
I will ask now that, before any legal work is filed, you please relinquish the domain name CenLamar.com at fair cost to my company, considering your only obvious intention in purchasing said domain is to rely on my blogsite’s keyword searches and unique content.
If any agreement cannot be reached within 36 (thirty-six) hours, I will take the necessary steps to pursue litigation against your company.
Sincerely,
Lamar White, Jr.
Sep 27
Guess what? The conversation is not over. We’ve talked about what has happened. Now, what happens next? (And isn’t this postcard awesome?)
Sep 27
Former WorldCom CEO and head engineer of the largest corporate scandal in the history of our nation (yes, at $11 billion, WorldCom was still bigger than Enron), Bernard “Bernie” Ebbers, drove himself (in his new white Mercedes sedan) to prison today in nearby Oakdale, where he will likely serve the majority of his twenty-five year sentence. Welcome to the neighborhood, Bernie.
Ebbers, who was born in Canada, first made his fortune during the 1980s by creating his own chain of motels in Mississippi. He was convicted of fraud and conspiracy in March of 2005.
(From what I understand, the Oakdale Correctional Complex isn’t exactly a country club prison. Should be a learning experience for him).
See Also: WeSawThat: “Louisiana’s Newest Resident”
Noteworthy:
Local Landscape Architect Jeff Carbo Featured in Wall Street Journal
Loren Scott in the Houston Chronicle: Louisiana Loses 175,000 Since Katrina. However, Alexandria Has Created 2,600 New Jobs Since Katrina
(We’re ahead of Houma and Monroe but still far behind Baton Rouge, Lafayette, and Shreveport in new job growth).
Sep 25
The Home Stretch. Vote for Roy.
The election is less than a week away, and during this final week, I think it’s important for us to remember what we’re voting for and what, in my opinion, we should be voting against.
When I first began blogging back in March, other bloggers and concerned citizens sent me letters with information about consulting companies, backdoor ordinances, and insider deals. Granted, we bloggers are known to suffer from a healthy amount of paranoia, and some of this material was more innocuous than they first thought.
However, where there is smoke, there is fire.
In my humble opinion, in the course of an election, it’s not negative to tell the public about an opponent’s professional record; it’s informative. It provides an insight into the way our local government currently operates.
Have we all forgotten this? Why is it rude, at this point, to remind people about the issues? When a candidate lies to the public why is it that our first inclination is to kill the messenger? (And we’re not talking about a little white lie. We’re talking about a lie that goes to the core of a candidate’s ability to operate with a governing body that must be dealt with on a daily basis).
I understand: We like our campaigns to be polite. But friends, at one point does our desire to be polite impede on the public’s right to know the truth?
We deserve a government that believes in and practices honesty and transparency.
Let’s really talk about this.
Is it okay for the mayor’s chief of staff to create an acquisition company to place a six-figure bid on a government-sponsored relocation contract? (And doesn’t this at least deserve a thorough explanation?)
The chief of staff and the city attorney’s wife BOTH bid on a contract to be decided by a board in which four out of five members are appointed by the mayor. How is this fair?
During the past twenty years, Alexandria has undergone a number of positive changes, and yet, we continue to recycle the same consultants, lawyers, insurance salesmen, and engineers.
Unfortunately, most people aren’t paying attention, and of those who do, some (even those who express the best intentions) are still complicit in the enterprise. Why? Because during those twenty years, these consultants, lawyers, insurance salesmen, and engineers aren’t just business partners; they’ve become friends.
If Alexandria is to take advantage of our growing economy, we must look toward young, fresh, and unconnected leadership. As much as people want to discount the Town Talk’s endorsement, there’s a good reason they selected Jacques Roy. Mr. Roy met with their editorial board for two hours, answering very specific questions and accounting for his vision of Alexandria’s future. They selected him, because he presented a clear plan, not just a series of talking points and abstractions, and he demonstrated his committment.
During this election, Jacques Roy has been the only candidate to really tackle the issue of smart growth. Campaigns can make promises about cleaning up crime and revitalizing our downtown, but without clear principles and a plan to accommodate for our growth, Alexandria will continue down the same path– disconnected, disjointed, and inefficient.
After my initial endorsement of Jacques, I’ve shied away from blogging about his candidacy, but with less than a week away, I want to share some of the things I’ve learned during his campaign.
First, Jacques has always been approachable, willing to listen, and willing to answer the most difficult questions. I have listened to Jacques campaign at block parties, coffee shops, music events, restaurants, and living rooms throughout our community.
But don’t just take my word for it. Ask others who attended these events. Ask Robert Randow, a local musician, who was so impressed by Jacques’ enthusiasm and honesty during an event at the House of Java, that he wrote a letter about it to The Town Talk. People who otherwise felt disinterested and disenfranchised, particularly young professionals, from our government are now speaking out and taking an active interest.
On a personal level, no one has promised me anything, and I do not expect anything. No one has ever told me what to write, for better or worse.
I support Jacques Roy, because I recognized, from the first letter he sent me in early July, that he truly wants good government. And I know what my naysayers will say: That I’m star-eyed and naive, that I’m too close to Jacques to have an objective perspective. Perhaps these are valid criticisms, but it doesn’t make them relevant.
Let me make this clear: I simply want what is best for our community. (I’ve never claimed to have all of the answers, but after reading and writing about Alexandria every single day for five months, I think I have a good handle on the issues). In two years, it’s possible I’ll be in graduate school. Contrary to the opinions of some, I do not have a vested financial interest in any candidate. My immediate family has not donated a dime to any political candidate. And after a lengthy due diligence period on the downtown Weiss and Goldring building, my family’s company has decided to move onto other projects (primarily, improving our existing inventory). As many of you may know, my two objectives are to reopen Bringhurst Golf Course as a non-profit and to create a truly independent press. That’s it.
I hope that my opinion will be read for what it is: That of someone motivated and inspired by the opportunity for change, someone who has carefully followed this campaign, someone dismayed by the insider deals, the lies, the consulting contracts, and the lack of transparency, and someone willing to speak out, even if it means catching a lot of anonymous grief.
