Michael "Brownie" Brown likes the Colts on Sunday.

Conservative hero James O'Keefe — famous for those undercover pimps and hos ACORN videos — was arrested along with three others for posing as telephone repairmen and trying to bug the phones in Sen. Mary Landrieu's New Orleans office.

James Perry is a former Eagle Scout and nonprofit executive who is running for mayor of New Orleans. In a new campaign ad, Perry enlists some angry friends to comment on the "insidery" nature of the race. Bleeps galore, ahead!

Further proving the road to hell as indeed paved with good intentions—or in this case, "green" concrete—Brad Pitt's taking flack for building housing in New Orleans' Katrina-devastated Lower Ninth ward. The houses are dreamy. The reaction isn't.

Four years after FBI agents raided his home and discovered $90,000 in his freezer, former nine term New Orleans-area congressman William "Dollar Bill" Jefferson has been found guilty of corruption. He faces up to 115 years in prison. [Times-Picayune]

In a move destined to improve US/China relations for years to come, the Chinese have quarantined woefully inept New Orleans Mayor Ray Nagin after a passenger on his flight overseas showed symptoms of the H1N1 virus, popularly known as swine flu.

New Orleans had 64 killings per 100,000 residents in 2008, far outdistancing its nearest competitor, St. Louis. Baton Rouge came in at No. 7. [New York Times]

Taken by my friend Amy V. Cooper, this pic shows the interior of New Orleans musician Clint Maedgen's apartment a few days after Hurricane Katrina ravaged the Gulf Coast in 2005.

Yep, Brownie's back in New Orleans. And your day editor is Facebook friends with him. [Politico]

Realizing that no Federal or local agency will be able to do much of anything when Hurricane Gustav reaches New Orleans, Mayor Ray Nagin has initiated the mandatory evacuation of half the city's coastal parishes today. And he when he says get out, he means it. There will be no emergency centers and the Superdome will not be a scene of mass chaos and tragedy this time around-because it's going to be closed. More on the evacuation, and video of Nagin's scary-ass warning, after the jump.

This particular new Banksy piece in New Orleans that we posted earlier today is a statement on the city's aggressive art-buffing practices, so of course it has already been painted over. But in the most head-scratching way possible. Idiotic example of the power structure missing the point, or the work of a sympathetic city worker? Or just more art? Click through for before and after pics:

A tipster has sent us five photos of brand new works by semi-secret superfamous street artist Banksy. All five were just put up in New Orleans, to commemorate the third anniversary of Hurricane Katrina on August 29. Some of the pieces relate directly the hurricane and its disastrous aftermath; others are targeted at the legacy of Fred Radtke, an infamous N.O. anti-graffiti crusader known as the "Gray Ghost" for his practice of painting over graffiti in gray paint—regardless of the color of the underlying wall. They're all pretty great. Five [UPDATE: Now six!] pieces, after the jump:

Feared and loathed Mountain View ad firm Google got a lot of deservedly good press for being a font of telling data in the aftermath of Hurricane Katrina, especially the satellite imagery provided by the Maps team. Now the company has added Greater New Orleans — from Metairie to Algiers, Shreveport to Baton Rouge — to street view. You can check in on every parade turn, strip joint, turtle souper and streetcar turnaround you might remember. But anyone might notice that the time disparity between the satellite and street-level photographs of the region are striking in visual contrast.The satellite imagery shows a nest of buildings further ramshackled in the wake of the flood, while the curbside angle shows thick, expansive verdure where ensuing demolition has left empty lots. YouTube footage provides heart-wrenching narrative counterpoint. I think I just shed a single, sincere tear for Google's seemingly earnest altruism. Nice work.

From the mailbag: "You know what I would pay good money for? A 120-page history of the Bush Administration written by Ken Layne—his just-the-facts history of the past seven years." Now that is actually a best-selling idea. Plus he'd have the manuscript done by this Labor Day! See here:
George W. Bush Wishes New Orleans a Very Happy Katrina Birthday [Wonkette]

Hey Heebs! Bored with life here in town? Up for some adventure—and cash? "Starting next month, any Jew who has relocated to [New Orleans] since Jan. 1 will be eligible for up to $5,500 for moving and housing expenses, interest-free loans of up to $30,000, half-price tuition at Jewish day schools, and a year of free membership at a synagogue and a Jewish community center." [LAT]

Party time! "All of Hearst Magazines' top management (editors-in-chief, publishers and other senior execs) are headed to New Orleans next week for the company's biennial executive management conference, hosted by Cathie Black," reports a Hearst spokeswoman. Well, doesn't that sound like fun! Glenda Bailey yukking it up with Ann Shoket! Joanna Coles doing research for a Marie Claire story! Kate White partying until 3AM in the French Quarter! David Granger wondering why he's there!

TODO is one daily thing recommended for you, by us.

A quick update on the Alan Richman contretemps. You'll remember that Richman, the ne plus ultra of bitchy dining critics, wrote a piece in GQ about New Orleans wherein he decided that, since someone fucked up his wine order, we should let the city rot. Predictably, the piece caused some controversy in the Crescent City, occasioning this blistering response from New Orleans Times-Picayune food guy Brett Anderson. On the internet, the food blog Appetites sent an e-mail to Richman, to which he responded; it turned into a full-blown interview. Richman admits that he got a few things wrong (true), claims that some of his jibes were tongue-in-cheek and misinterpreted (also true), and lets off a withering attack of his own on Anderson and the Times-Pic. In the main he sticks to his guns; whatever your particular thoughts on the merits of the initial article (and our thoughts were a slightly more emphatic version of "Blow me"), this interview makes for some interesting reading. Fun fact: Richman used to cover the NBA.

We generally enjoy Bloomberg/GQ food critic Alan Richman's acerbic, over-the-top eviscerations of the city's overpriced crudo emporia (example: "I asked [the sommelier's] opinion of a couple of $70-and-under Australian reds I was considering for my second wine. He suggested a $205 Australian pinot noir instead. The only appropriate response to that would have been to beat him to death."), but his dispatch from New Orleans in the current GQ, left us more than a little vexed. We're not usually offended by written equivalents of kicking a man in the nuts while his hair is on fire (really, how could we be?) but this piece left us feeling violated. We're going to a cheat a bit and give you a sample from the end, but read the whole thing:

• New Orleans mayor Ray Nagin accuses press of not covering the vast swathe of stories in New Orleans that don't involve rape, poverty, sluggish reconstruction, municipal incompetence, or women being vivisected and baked in ovens. [E&P]