Democrats about to Snatch Defeat from the Jaws of Victory

Unless the Democrats decide between now and August to make Hillary Clinton their nominee, they will lose the general election in the fall. Another one of Barack Obama's 'spiritual advisors' has come out of the woodwork, this time in the person of a Roman Catholic priest, Michael Pfleger. It seems that Father Pfleger is a regular at Trinity United Church of Christ in Chicago. If Barack Obama didn't know the guy, then no harm no foul. He does know him. He named him as a 'spiritual advisor' to his campaign.

Obama has a serious problem with blue collar Democrats, and this series of videos probably just assured his defeat in Pennsylvania, Ohio & Michigan. These voters, people who have worked all their lives to provide for their families, do not want to hear Obama's 'spiritual advisors' tell them that they are privileged by 'white entitlement'. They do not want to hear Obama's 'spiritual advisor' tell them that he'll be damned if they can talk about Jeremiah Wright or Louis Farrakhan, and ask them 'how dare you?'.
Obama needs to fall on the sword that his 'friends' and 'spiritual advisors' have placed to his throat. The only hope of a Democratic president now lies with Hillary Clinton.

Economic Benefits of Haynesville Shale could be 'Monstrous' for Louisiana

The Haynesville Shale is being described as one of the richest fields of natural gas ever discovered in Louisiana and possibly in the United States. If it is as viable as several large companies believe, it will bring billions of dollars into the state treasury over the long run.

“The economic impact will be absolutely monstrous if it’s as big as it can be,” said Don Briggs, president of the Louisiana Oil and Gas Association.

Until now, the production of oil and gas in Louisiana has been obtained from the conventional subsurface reservoirs that are located in sandstone or limestone formations. The Haynesville Play is predicated on shale as the subsurface source of natural gas, according to information from M.B. Kumar, Office of Conservation geologist administrator. The shale is a rock formation mainly composed of consolidated clay-sized particles deposited and buried in the north Louisiana geological basin more than 170 million years ago during the geologic Jurassic time. It's characterized by ultra-low permeability in contrast with the conventional sandstone/limestone reservoir rocks that have high permeability.

The shale’s boundaries are still up for interpretation. But the hot zones appear to include all of DeSoto Parish, the mid- to southern regions of Caddo and Bossier parishes, the southern tip of Webster, the western end of Bienville, most of Red River, the upper parts of Sabine and Natchitoches parishes and sections of East Texas.

What if the Haynesville Shale turns out to overshadow the East Texas Barnett Shale, the granddaddy of all natural gas fields? “We don’t know how that will look. It’s going to take a little time,” Briggs said. “However, there’s obviously enough evidence with the preliminary test that certainly has sparked an immense fever of excitement about drilling in the Haynesville Shale, and it could be very big. The economic impact to the northwest part of the state and the state of Louisiana will be very substantial.”

The need for more energy in the United States is behind the push to explore these natural gas fields. Louisiana is a net consumer of natural gas, consuming all of what’s produced in state. “We have a tremendous need for it with all of the petrochemical industry that we have. That’s a power source. … The heart of the natural gas industry flows through all of Louisiana and flows through the rest of the country. Twenty-five percent of all natural gas for the country flows through Louisiana,” Briggs said.

The News Star

Chesapeake Energy announced the find in March. Chesapeake is the largest independent and third-largest overall producer of natural gas in the U.S. Headquartered in Oklahoma City, the company's operations are focused on exploratory and developmental drilling and corporate and property acquisitions in the Mid-Continent, Fort Worth Barnett Shale, Fayetteville Shale, Haynesville Shale, Permian Basin, Delaware Basin, South Texas, Texas Gulf Coast, Ark-La-Tex and Appalachian Basin.

Chesapeake CEO Aubrey McLendon believes that the Haynesville Play is the biggest thing Chesapeake has ever been into, and they are knee-deep in the Barnett Shale in Texas, currently the largest gas field in the country.

Other Sources for information:

My Bossier

Oil & Gas Investor

The Absurd Report

Prime News Wire

Yahoo! Finance

Houston Business Journal

Reuters

Forbes

Fort Worth Business Press

State Revenue Department Information on Natural Gas Severance Tax

The Times Ignores Gerard Bowen, Jr

There was an article in The Times today about Chris Gorman's son You Tubing his dad's campaign for the 4th District Congressional Seat. The article mentioned all the Democratic candidates and all the Republican candidates - and listed their websites.
The article totally ignored Gerard Bowen, Jr and did not list his website. I actually commented on the online edition and listed his website.
I find this very interesting as they ran this article about his campaign so they are aware that he is running.
What are the motivations for this snub? Is it because Bowen has just been here for three years, having been relocated from his home in Metairie by Hurricane Katrina?
Is it because he is not 'connected' as all the other candidates are?
Or is it something else?
I have stated in another blog that I am not endorsing this candidate; I do not intend to vote for a Republican at all. They have created enough mess to last a lifetime. It is time for a breather and I feel that either John Milkovich or Paul Carmouche can offer that.
However, I do love an underdog and Mr. Bowen definitely fits that mold. Underdog or not, the snub by The Times was pretty blatant and should be explained.

VP? Jindal Endorsed by Washington Times

The Washington Times, a newspaper known for its conservative leanings, has added its voice to the many that are calling for John McCain to pick Governor Jindal to be his running mate.
In an editorial Saturday the paper said:
(excerpts)
"There are many things John McCain needs in a vice presidential candidate. The most obvious is a running mate who must be prepared to lead should the president be unable to. Other characteristics? Conservative. Youthful. Diverse. There is one name among those Mr. McCain is interviewing this weekend that fits the bill: Bobby Jindal.
The newly elected Louisiana governor is an exciting breath of fresh air to the national ranks of the Republican Party. At age 36, Mr. Jindal is our youngest governor and the first person of color to serve as Louisiana governor since Reconstruction. . . . .
A staunchly pro-life Roman Catholic, Mr. Jindal has the voting record to match his socially and fiscally conservative rhetoric.
. . . Critics suggest Mr. Jindal is too young. We query, too young for what? Mr. Jindal meets the Constitution's age requirement in addition to boasting an impressive, experienced and accomplished record as a public servant at the state and federal levels (since 1995.) In fact, Mr. Jindal has more executive and legislative experience than both Hillary Clinton and Barack Obama combined. The question is whether he has the ability to step in as commander-in-chief at a moment's notice. We have no doubt that he could.
. . . we hope Mr. McCain will ask and that Mr. Jindal will accept. The great people of Louisiana will understand."
H/T Your Right Hand Thief

The True Meaning of Memorial Day

Memorial Day is observed on the last Monday of May. Formerly known as Decoration Day, it commemorates U.S. men and women who perished while in military service.

Jindal for VP?

A lot of Louisiana Republicans have their panties in a wad because Bobby Jindal seems to be shooting to the top of John McCain's running mate list yet he won't say no to the possibility.

The Louisiana Conservative says "IF Governor Jindal chooses to abandon Louisiana to ascend his political career as Vice President, Louisiana Republicans are going to be so pissed off that they will likely either stay at home on election day, or they may cross over to the “Dim Side” just to make it even more clear just how they really feel. Louisiana Conservatives will feel abused and betrayed."
Some heavy-hitting people have come out for Jindal, among them Rush Limbaugh, Bill Kristol and Newt Gingrich. Former Governor Buddy Roemer, who is close to McCain, is also a fan of Jindal.
David Vitter is pushing Jindal's name for VP, but that is likely because if Jindal left Louisiana, Vitter would once again be the 'top-dawg' Republican in the state.
A majority of my fellow bloggers don't believe that McCain will offer Jindal the nomination, but I'm not so sure. Jindal is well-liked by the conservative wing of the party, and McCain definitely needs help there. A lot of Republican operatives also believe that having a non-white on the ticket would offset Barack Obama. Jindal's age is also another factor.

The proof will be in the pudding. In the meantime, it's great blogging and video material.

Jindal in McCain's Top Three

Governor Bobby Jindal, Florida Governer Charlie Crist and Mitt Romney are all scheduled to meet with John McCain this weekend.
According to MSNBC, McCain is ready to get down to buiness with potential VP's and it could come down to these three. This could get interesting.

New York Times article

Human Events on the 4th District Congressional Race: They have it Wrong

In a Story entitled “Iron Man” of B-Team In LA-4, John Gizzi in Human Events today published an article about Chris Gorman, a Shreveport Republican who is running for the 4th District congressional seat.

In Louisiana’s 4th District (Shreveport), where Republican Rep. Jim McCrery is retiring after 20 years, the smart money had it that either Jerry Jones or Steve Prator would be his GOP successor. After all, attorney Jones was well known from a strong race for mayor of Shreveport last year and Prator had almost folk-hero status as sheriff of Cato Parish (county). But the smart money didn’t take into account that neither was willing to run in ’06, so the race for the all-important Republican nomination this September is among three candidates who have not held or sought elective office before. All signs now point to Chris Gorman, business executive and one-time high-school football star, as the front-runner. Gorman’s two opponents are trial attorney Jeff Thompson and physician John Fleming, neither of whom has come close to him in terms of money raised or spelling out specific issue stands.

So far, okay, although I would disagree with his assessment of Dr. Fleming. His website (which is the best of all the candidates) has an extensive section on issues. Oh, and 'strong candidate' Jerry Jones lost the Mayor's race to the Democrat. Also, it is not 'Cato Parish (county)'. It is Caddo Parish. Also, Gorman is not a shoo-in for the nomination. Jeff Thompson, who has McCrery's endorsement, will give him a run for his money.


Gizzi in LaLa Land
In contrast to other seemingly secure Republican districts—notably the Pelican State’s 6th District that Democrats picked up in a special election two weeks ago—there is no heavyweight Democrat running in the 4th District and winning the Republican primary appears to be tantamount to succeeding McCrery.

That should be news to Paul Carmouche, the 30 year District Attorney of Caddo Parish who has announced as a Democrat. Carmouche is indeed a heavyweight. It is the Republicans who are not fielding a heavyweight candidate. Gizzi noted that all three Republicans have never held public office.
Do you suppose there is a reason that no current Republican office-holders have announced for the seat? Could it be because Jim McCrery could only pull 56% of the vote in '06, when in previous elections he got 70% plus? Is it because the Republican brand is so damaged that insiders realize that the 4th will probably go for a Democrat?
Gizzi must be getting all of his information from the Gorman campaign, as it has little to do with reality. The reality is that the 4th District is not Republican, it is conservative, and Paul Carmouche is a conservative Democrat. Of course, he will be portrayed as Nancy Pelosi's best bud, and will be linked to Rev. Jeremiah Wright via Barack Obama.
It won't work. It didn't work in the 6th District, it didn't work in Mississippi's 1st District, and it won't work here.
H/T LaNewsLink

Ted Kennedy Suffers Possible Stroke

A spokeswoman for Edward M. Kennedy said the Massachusetts senator is in the hospital for evaluation after becoming ill at his Hyannis home. There was no immediate word on his condition, although a knowledgeable official said the 76-year-old senator was hospitalized Saturday after suffering stroke-like symptoms. The official declined to be identified by name, citing the sensitivity of the events. Kennedy spokeswoman Stephanie Cutter confirmed in a statement that Kennedy went to Cape Cod Hospital on Saturday morning "after feeling ill at his home."
More details and video at We Saw That

Huckabee Humor

This is bizarre.

"That was Barack Obama, he just tripped off a chair, he's getting ready to speak," said the former Arkansas governor, to audience laughter. "Somebody aimed a gun at him and he dove for the floor."

Chris Matthews Shames Hannity Wannabe Kevin James

President Bush, in addressing the Israeli Knesset today, made remarks about 'some' (read Barack Obama) wanting to appease terrorists. He was referring to remarks by Obama saying that he would hold talks with Iran. He even drug out the ghosts of Neville Chamberlain and Adolf Hitler. The comparison is strange, considering that Hitler had retaken the Rhineland, annexed Austria and was preparing to attack Czechoslovakia. Iran has attacked no one at all. Chamberlain's mistake, as Matthews points out, was in giving in to Hitler's demands that Germany take Czechoslovakia, not in talking to Hitler.
Although holding talks with iran is the same position taken by Secretary of State Condoleeza Rice and Secretary of Defense Robert Gates, apparently if Obama proposes it then it is appeasement.
John McCain jumped on the bandwagon, saying that it would be an issue in the presidential race. This, in spite of the fact that McCain says he supports Rice & Gates' view on talks.
Then onto Hardball with Chris Matthews comes Kevin James, a talk show host who is a Hannity wannabe, saying that Obama is an appeaser.
Matthews puts him to shame.

Jindal Flip Flops on SB87

First he was against it, now he's for it.
When Senator Buddy Shaw of Shreveport first introduced SB87 to repeal income tax increases that resulted from the adoption of the Stelly Plan, the governor was opposed. After Nick Gautreaux added an amendment to totally eliminate the state income tax over a ten year period - and it passed - Jindal realized that there were people who would actually do more than just give lip service to tax cuts. Unbelievably, they were in the Louisiana Legislature. Today, with the governor's encouragement, a house committee stripped the Gautreaux amendment. Now Jindal is making it his own; he can go on talk shows and take credit for giving the people of Louisiana a $300,000,000 tax cut.
I doubt that he will mention that he supported the bill (after opposing it) only after he had the bejesus scared out of him by some real conservatism.
The good guys in the episode are Senator Shaw, who campaigned on rolling back the increases, and Senator Gautreaux, who had the courage to go for it all.

Rush was Wrong

Jindal the Next Reagan - we don't think so.

Rush Limbaugh was wrong when he predicted that Bobby Jindal would be the next Ronald Reagan. He wasn't wrong in recognizing that Jindal probably has a career on the national scene, and he wasn't wrong in comparing him to a past Republican president.

He just chose the wrong one. No, Jindal is not a Reagan - he is the next Richard Nixon. His modus operandi compares to Nixon's, and he already has his Haldeman and Erlichman in place; Timmy Teepell and Melissa Sellers.

Teepell, chief of staff to the governor and Sellers, his press secretary, handle Jindal much in the same way that Haldeman and Erlichman handled Nixon, 'protecting' him from the public that he has sworn to serve. Are they developing an 'enemies list' similar to Nixon's? I wouldn't be surprised. Timmy Teepell ordered negative ads against Speaker Pro Tem Karen Carter for opposing Jindal's school voucher program.

Sellers is a control freak who apparently believes that her mission in life is to keep Jindal away from the press and to avoid any direct questioning.

There are currently two great posts in Your Right Hand Thief dealing with these two. Also, Jeremy Alford had a great column entitled Stonewall Jindal in The Independent.

Jindal Not Acting Conservative

From Jeff Crouere . Read the entire article at NOLA.com:
excerpt:
On Friday, in a presentation to the Revenue Estimating Conference, state economists predicted that Louisiana would receive about $1 billion in extra revenue this fiscal year and into the future. The revenue bonanza is mainly caused by skyrocketing oil and gas prices. This surplus should not be spent on growing government, instead it should be returned to the taxpayers of Louisiana. Unfortunately, Governor Bobby Jindal has called for "investing" the surplus dollars to handle "unanticipated needs that may arise in the future." Sorry, Governor Jindal, the biggest need right now is to provide relief to Louisiana taxpayers who are reeling from burdensome taxes, surging costs of gasoline, high grocery prices and inflated insurance premiums. Thousands of people are still trying to recover from the devastation of Katrina and Rita. So, it should be the primary mission of politicians in Baton Rouge to serve the taxpayers and create a more livable environment in Louisiana.

H/T The Reduct Box

Heinz 57 Racial Slur? You be the Judge.

Louisiana Conservative has published a post with a video of Barack Obama's slip of the tongue in referring to the fact that he's been in "57 states". They go on to comment:
Yes he actually said, “I’ve now been in fifty…… seven states.” Yes, he did pause to think about it beforehand. Yes, he actually said, “One left to go, Alaska and Hawaii…”
And yes, this is the apparent Democratic nominee. Suitably Flip has already suggested a 57-star flag lapel pin - not that Obama would dare wear a flag lapel pin.
Me, I thinking a Heinz 57 State Sauce. Works on soooo many levels, don’t you think?

Nick Gautreaux - Louisiana's Tax Slayer

Rep. Nick Gautreaux (D-Meaux)

Louisiana Republicans are accustomed to giving speeches on 'liberal Democrats', Abortion, 'creation science' and how the Homosexual Agenda is out to destroy our culture. This is how they establish their 'conservative' credentials.

Now, in a wicked turn of fate, they are being called on to act on a truly conservative issue - abolishing the state's income tax. It really is quite a sight to see them hurrying and scurrying for political cover.

It appears that the Louisiana House of Representatives is prepared to okay SB 87 and send it back to the Senate, much to the dismay of the bill's author. The bill was introduced by Senator Buddy Shaw of Shreveport to roll back increases that were implemented by the passage of the Stelly bill in 2002.

Sen Nick Gautreaux, a Democrat no less, tacked on an amendment to eliminate the income tax instead, and to everyone's surprise the bill passed the Senate. Shaw could have returned the bill to the calendar, but did not do so in the belief that the House would kill it.

Senator Shaw has persuaded Rep. Jane Smith of Bossier City to propose an amendment in the house to restore the bill to its original state. Smith doesn't believe the amendment will gain support, however. Asked whether she believes the governor will support the bill, Smith said "I don't think he'll veto it." Jindal said today that he 'conceptually' supports the idea of eliminating personal income tax.

Our own Senator Robert Adley said when the bill passed the Senate that "the Governor will veto the bill - and should."

Perhaps he remembered that he switched to the Republican Party last December (after being elected as a Democrat in October). Today he switched songs in mid-tune and said “If we can draw in industry and jobs, we could offset the loss." He must have realized that people were actually watching, and that some people really believe that Louisiana Republicans are fiscal conservatives.

The Straight Talk Express

For the last couple of weeks, the media has harped on Rev. Jeremiah Wright and his more colorful statements. The Republicans and the Clintonistas are attacking Barack Obama for what his pastor said. Rev. Wright, whether you agree with him or not, is not running for office. He has the right to say anything he wants to say. The idea that Barack Obama is somehow responsible is really a stretch. Are you responsible for everything your pastor says and does? Do you really believe that the 14,000 members of Ted Haggard's congregation were responsible for his meetings with a gay prostitute?
How about holding the candidates responsible for what comes out of their own mouths? I'm much more interested in what they say than in what their pastors say.
For instance, did Hillary really come under sniper fire in Bosnia? Of course not. But the lady who wants to answer the phone at 3 AM claims that she had a faulty memory. She remembered ducking and running from gunfire that never happened. Now that concerns me.
How about John McCain's flip-flops? Which McCain do you believe? The media loves the Jeremiah Wright story and will keep it going as long as they can. In the meantime, whoever you decide to believe, look at the record and listen to the candidates themselves.

Conservative Columnist Kristol touts McCain-Jindal

From Bill Kristol's column in the New York Times:

Maybe that’s why, in separate conversations last week, no fewer than four McCain staffers and advisers mentioned as a possible vice-presidential pick the 36-year-old Louisiana governor, Bobby Jindal. They’re tempted by the idea of picking someone so young, with real accomplishments and a strong reformist streak.
It might also be a way to confront the issue of McCain’s age (71), which private polls and focus groups suggest could be a real problem. A Jindal pick would implicitly acknowledge the questions and raise the ante. The message would be: “You want generational change? You can get it with McCain-Jindal — without risking a liberal and inexperienced Obama as commander in chief.” I would add that it was after McCain spent considerable time with Jindal in New Orleans recently, and reportedly found him, as he has before, personally engaging and intellectually impressive, that the campaign’s informal name-dropping of Jindal began.

Candidates for Congress 4th District: Willie Banks, Jr

Willie Banks, Jr, Democrat of Leesville, has announced his intention to seek the 4th District Seat.

For the last ten years, Banks has served as Chapter 13 Bankruptcy Trustee for the Western District of Louisiana, Alexandria Division. He is a graduate of Southern University, where he received both Bachelor and Juris Doctorate Degrees.

Since his Military retirement as a Colonel in 1994, he has resided in LaCamp, La., a community in rural Vernon Parish.
He has served on the Board of Directors of numerous Civic Organizations., and is a member of the Louisiana State Bar Association, The American Bar Association, National Bar Association, the Vernon Parish Bar Association and the National Association of Chapter Thirteen Trustees .

Mr Banks' challenge will be in finding support in the Shreveport/Bossier area, which contains more than half the population of the district.

Website

The Fear of Taco Bell still Looms Large

A committee in the State House this week killed House Bill 432, which was introduced by Rep. Walker Hines (D-NO) in an effort to plug a loophole in the new "Ethics" law just passed by the legislature in the special session in February. A provision in the bill limited lobbyist spending to $50 per event.

The current law, according to Mark Ballard of The Advocate, allows lobbyists to "spend $50 on predinner drinks, take $50 worth of appetizers out on the patio, head to the dining room for a $50 entrée, down a $50 dessert by the fire in the lobby, then retire to the bar for $50 worth of cigars and brandy. Legislators can do this every single night of the year and do it again for lunch." Hines' bill would have limited the $50 limit to a 24 hour period.

The leges, apparently in fear of the dreaded Taco Bell scenario, not only killed the bill but attacked its author.

Rep. Mert Smiley said that to the extent there is a problem, "it’s the media’s fault."

Rep. Tony Ligi said not a single constituent had complained to him about the loophole. He is worried that the reporting aspect will add to the work of the Ethics Board.

Sen. Danny Martiny argued that by virtue of their status as legislators, it should be harder for the ethics board to find that legislators failed to follow the rules the legislators set for themselves.

Also, according to Ballard, "A Senate committee forwarded legislation that would make secret most documents involving the governor and his staff. Though Jindal yakked up his “gold standard ethics reform” with TV talk show host Jay Leno, he spent more than a week ducking local press questions about all the loopholes and surprises in those ethics bills. The most seminal image — also televised — showed the governor’s press secretary’s body blocking a television reporter who tried to ask those questions as a door closed on a silent Jindal."

So much for transparency. So much for expecting our legislators to be satisfied with a $50 meal.

The Emperor has no Coattails: Cazayoux wins 6th District Congressional Seat

Despite every effort by Governor Jindal to help Don Cazayoux's opponent, the Democrat defeated Woody Jenkins in the 6th Congressional District Race Saturday night, taking 49.20% of the vote over Jenkins' 46.27%. This will put the seat in the Democratic column, at least until the regular election in the fall.

Despite the state and national Republicans throwing everything in the book at Cazayoux (including Nancy Pelosi and Barack Obama), Louisiana voters once again proved their independence by supporting a moderate Democrat over the Republican.

In the 1st District, Republican Steve Scalise won handily over Gilda Reid to claim the seat that Jindal vacated when he became governor.

Candidates for Congress 4th District: John Milkovich

John Milkovich, a Shreveport attorney, is an evangelical, pro-life, pro-2nd amendment Democrat who has announced (again) for the 4th District Seat. Milkovich ran in 2004 and garnered 27% of the vote against incumbent McCrery.

McCrery isn't running, the Republicans are in disfavor and the race is wide open. Fellow Democrats Willie Banks Jr and Paul Carmouche have also announced.

On the Republican side, Dr John Fleming, Chris Gorman, Gerard Bowen Jr and Jeff Thompson all have their hat in the ring.

Milkovich gained a high profile locally years ago when he proved the innocence of James Monds, who was on death row at the time. Milkovich fought against all odds for his client, incurring the displeasure of the system. He was even physically attacked in a hallway at the Bossier Parish Courthouse by a Bossier City detective.

But he got his man off death row. John Milkovich is a fighter.

He is well known in the area for his church work and is a regular speaker at different venues. Milkovich has been having a problem with his website, but has this one up at the present time. Visit his issues section; no party line there.