tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-74776953154317827392024-03-13T11:40:49.219-05:00Jindal WatchQuis custodiet ipso custodies?Jimhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12927133938857523885noreply@blogger.comBlogger169125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7477695315431782739.post-77348006458742932652015-05-21T13:53:00.002-05:002015-05-21T13:53:55.909-05:00Executive Order - Pro Religion or Anti Gay?After Louisiana Representative Mike Johnson's 'Marriage and Conscience' bill didn't make it out of committee, Bobby Jindal issued an executive order implementing the major parts of it.<br />
Jindal, who has been highly critical of President Barack Obama doing the same in order to skirt Congress, did the very same in the name of religious freedom.<br />
It seems to a lot of people that Jindal did this for multifold purposes. First, to grab some national headlines in hopes of giving his presidential aspirations a boost. Second, to take attention away from a $1,600,000,000 deficit that the state faces.<br />
What do you think, Religious Warrior or Political Panderer?<br />
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-7VCHNjZZlBs/VV4oqZmz6kI/AAAAAAAAEXw/YTICMYy_Ows/s1600/1aaabobby.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="378" src="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-7VCHNjZZlBs/VV4oqZmz6kI/AAAAAAAAEXw/YTICMYy_Ows/s400/1aaabobby.jpg" width="400" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Jindal and Johnson</td></tr>
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<br />Jimhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12927133938857523885noreply@blogger.com6tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7477695315431782739.post-52469100364849650432009-05-11T13:09:00.002-05:002009-05-11T13:12:42.378-05:00Jindal believes in transparency for everyone but himself<span style="font-size:85%;">Lie1. </span><br /><span style="font-size:85%;">A false statement deliberately presented as being true; a falsehood.</span><br /><span style="font-size:85%;">2. Something meant to deceive or give a wrong impression.</span><br /><span style="font-size:85%;">LiarOne that tells lies.</span><br /><span style="font-size:85%;"></span><br />In last year's <a href="http://gov.louisiana.gov/index.cfm?articleID=24&md=newsroom&tmp=detail">inaugural address</a>, Gov. Bobby Jindal vowed to rally Louisianians to build a state "where our leaders and our people set the highest standards and hold every member of our government accountable." At the urging of the governor's staff, House and Senate committees last week <a href="http://www.nola.com/news/t-p/capital/index.ssf?/base/news-7/1241069596152300.xml&coll=1">killed mirror-image bills</a> by Rep. Wayne Waddell and Sen. Robert Adley that would have eliminated the broad exception for the governor's office in the state's open records law.<br />The identical measures, House Bill 169 and Senate Bill 278, still would have shielded documents related to ongoing economic development negotiations that are held by the governor, his chief of staff and his legal counsel. That addressed worries about the state's ability to negotiate with private companies. The bills would not have affected exceptions in other laws, such as protections for records involving the governor's safety and security.<br />Unfortunately, Gov. Jindal and his staff are not only blocking reform -- they are backing a rival measure that would further restrict access to records held by the governor's office and other agencies. Senate Bill 278 by Sen. Jody Amedee extends those exceptions to records held outside the governor's office, meaning other agencies could shield documents by arguing they were "used, held, or prepared on behalf of the governor," according to the Public Affairs Research Council.<br />Robert Adley served sixteen years in the House and one term in the senate as a Democrat. Just after last fall’s election he switched to the Republican Party because he shared the philosophy of the new governor. At the time, Adley said "<em>I have worked with a number of reform governors and spent years trying to get reform in Louisiana. We've gotten close; we've never gotten there. I really believe this administration has that chance and I want to participate in that</em>."<br />Adley is singing a different tune now. <a href="http://2theadvocate.com/">The Advocate</a> reports that after the defeat of his bill he said "<em>It's so blatantly bad, He's making horrible arguments and the Legislature, because of all the lobbying he's doing, is swallowing the whole thing. Transparency is gone. Checks and balances are gone. I'm beginning to believe I'm sitting in a communist state</em>.”<br />It’s good to see Adley on the right side of this issue. It hasn’t always been so. Last year, he <a href="http://mybossier.blogspot.com/2008/02/did-robert-adley-applaud.html">opposed a bill</a> that sought disclosure from those municipal officials that he depends on for his livelihood. He also was unable to find his conservative values when he voted for the <a href="http://mybossier.blogspot.com/2008/06/adley-tips-scales-state-senate-passes.html">exorbitant pay raise</a> last year which Jindal ultimately vetoed, after promising the legislature that he would not.<br />Read editorial comments in <a href="http://blog.nola.com/editorials/2009/05/editorial_gov_bobby_jindal_sho.html">The Times-Picayune</a> and <a href="http://www.shreveporttimes.com/article/20090510/OPINION03/905090309/1058">The Times</a>.<br />Several references at <a href="http://lanewslink.com/">LaNewsLink</a>.Jimhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12927133938857523885noreply@blogger.com62tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7477695315431782739.post-10177910381226429172009-04-04T17:03:00.004-05:002009-04-04T17:06:05.489-05:00Jindal: The Gathering StormWith his statewide approval down to 53%, Bobby Jindal should take note that the people are not happy with his traveling all over the country fundraising (for president) while the state suffers.<br />If he remains oblivious, he may find that he will be defeated for governor in 2011 and won't have his 'stepping-stone' to the presidency.<br /><br /><span style="font-size:130%;">Deep Pockets: Jindal’s to donors have access to power – and millions of dollars in state work</span><br /><a href="http://bestofneworleans.com/gyrobase/Content?oid=oid:53436">Jeremy Alford</a><br /><br /><span style="font-size:130%;">Jindal’s ‘Gold Standard’ further tarnished<br /></span><a href="http://www.theadvertiser.com/article/20090404/OPINION01/904040314/1014/OPINION">The Advertiser</a><br /><br /><span style="font-size:130%;">Jindal’s Pay-To-Play Plan<br /></span><a href="http://forgotston.com/">C. B. Forgotston</a><br /><br /><a href="http://www.thereductbox.com/2009/04/03/moon-griffon-obama-cut-taxes-faster-than-jindal/">Moon Griffon</a>: Oba<span style="font-size:130%;">ma cut taxes faster than Jindal</span><br /><br />The Reduct Box: <a title="Permanent Link to Jindal uses state helocopter for fundraiser" href="http://www.thereductbox.com/2009/04/04/jindal-uses-state-helocopter-for-fundraiser/"><span style="font-size:130%;">Jindal uses state helicopter for fundraiser</span></a>Jimhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12927133938857523885noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7477695315431782739.post-41401360773747873062009-02-25T15:59:00.003-06:002009-02-25T16:02:25.127-06:00Jindal BombsThe guv appeared on the Today Show this morning in an attempt to control some of the damage from his response to President Obama last night.<br />Jindal, not a particularly effective speaker in any circumstance, really bombed with his first national appearance. <br />He and the family are at Disneyland or Disneyworld or somewhere 'winding down'. . . . <em>anywhere but Baton Rouge . . . </em><br /><em></em><br /><br /><object width="425" height="344"><param name="movie" value="http://www.youtube.com/v/WU-MLY85-0Q&hl=en&fs=1"></param><param name="allowFullScreen" value="true"></param><param name="allowscriptaccess" value="always"></param><embed src="http://www.youtube.com/v/WU-MLY85-0Q&hl=en&fs=1" type="application/x-shockwave-flash" allowscriptaccess="always" allowfullscreen="true" width="425" height="344"></embed></object>Jimhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12927133938857523885noreply@blogger.com4tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7477695315431782739.post-12028828521361257922009-02-12T21:29:00.000-06:002009-02-12T21:30:46.637-06:00Jindal to Respond to Obama Speech<p><object height="344" width="425"><param name="movie" value="http://www.youtube.com/v/ZiB2hVq2Lgw&hl=en&fs=1"><param name="allowFullScreen" value="true"><param name="allowscriptaccess" value="always"><embed src="http://www.youtube.com/v/ZiB2hVq2Lgw&hl=en&fs=1" type="application/x-shockwave-flash" allowscriptaccess="always" allowfullscreen="true" width="425" height="344"></embed></object></p><p>From <a href="http://wesawthat.blogspot.com/">We Saw That</a></p>Jimhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12927133938857523885noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7477695315431782739.post-11625907848639835682009-01-23T22:27:00.000-06:002009-01-23T22:28:34.184-06:00Jindal gets major Speaking EngagementFrom <a href="http://www.businessreport.com/">Business Report</a>:<br /><br />Politico magazine says Gov. Bobby Jindal will be the headlining speaker at the National Republican Congressional Committee’s March fundraising dinner.<br />For the past eight years, former President George W. Bush was the main speaker at the event, which raises money for GOP Congressional candidates. NRCC officials say Jindal was picked because he's a "rising star" and part of the "new generation of leadership in our party."<br />Although Jindal says his main focus is on running for re-election in 2011, he's been seen as a possible presidential candidate in 2012.Jimhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12927133938857523885noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7477695315431782739.post-73943100360124338552008-12-28T13:07:00.001-06:002008-12-28T13:08:57.543-06:00Jindal not the next ObamaFrom The Richmond <a href="http://www.timesdispatch.com/rtd/news/opinion/op_ed/article/FAULK1228_20081226-201115/162650/">Times-Dispatch</a><br /><br />Is Louisiana Gov. Bobby Jindal the Republican Barack Obama?<br />A political podcast I downloaded asked that question recently, but it wasn't the first time I have heard it. It likely won't be the last, either.<br />We can answer the query unequivocally, here and now: No, he's not -- and he doesn't have to be. There are similarities between Obama and Jindal, but Republicans must realize that the 36-year-old Southern governor isn't a miracle GOP answer to the president-elect.<br />It is easy to see why some people want to cast the Pelican State governor as a conservative counter to Obama -- and it's not only the two men's shared skin tone. Both are reform-minded political and policy whiz kids who cut to the front of the political line, displacing notorious political machines in Chicago and Louisiana, and quickly zoomed to national prominence. Both also show the best of America: Obama, the highly educated son of an African immigrant, won a seat in the U.S. Senate and the presidency with so-called post-racial coalitions; uber-educated Jindal, whose parents emigrated from India in the 1970s, claimed the governor's chair in a region once wary of those who could be branded "outsiders."<br />The comparisons present a nice package, neatly tied, for Republicans who want to believe they have an Obama of their own ready to reclaim the mantle from the charismatic Democratic president-elect. Before Jindal said that he will not run for president in 2012, some members of the media also liked the Obama-Jindal narrative because they might have had the chance to bill that year's campaign as a clash-of-the-titans election.Jimhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12927133938857523885noreply@blogger.com81tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7477695315431782739.post-43037738984433160782008-12-11T18:43:00.000-06:002008-12-11T18:44:14.406-06:00Jindal: on the move, on the money<object width="425" height="344"><param name="movie" value="http://www.youtube.com/v/dDTBflNpb2o&hl=en&fs=1"></param><param name="allowFullScreen" value="true"></param><param name="allowscriptaccess" value="always"></param><embed src="http://www.youtube.com/v/dDTBflNpb2o&hl=en&fs=1" type="application/x-shockwave-flash" allowscriptaccess="always" allowfullscreen="true" width="425" height="344"></embed></object>Jimhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12927133938857523885noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7477695315431782739.post-72019568392201096302008-12-10T15:11:00.003-06:002008-12-10T15:15:28.029-06:00'Just want to be governor', Jindal says from Virginia<em>Louisiana Gov. Bobby Jindal </em><a href="http://www.shreveporttimes.com/article/20081210/ELECTION/81210028"><em>said today</em></a><em> he's not interested in a 2012 Republican presidential bid and will seek a second term as governor in 2011.<br />Jindal, who appeared at a news conference in Richmond to back Virginia Republican gubernatorial candidate Bob McDonnell, was asked if he was interested in being president.<br />"No," he replied. </em><br /><em>Jindal's trip to Iowa last month fueled speculation that he was laying the groundwork for a presidential campaign, and he did not rule out changing his mind over the next few years. Instead, he said Americans are weary after the longest, most expensive election cycle in U.S. history.<br />"I think anybody who is even thinking of running would be well served to roll up their sleeves and support our new president," Jindal said.</em><br /><br />Makes perfect sense. He just got back from Iowa and Texas and is now in Virginia supporting a Republican candidate. All of this is part of his effort to 'not run' in 2012. He may be telling the truth. Depending on Obama's numbers in early 2011, Jindal may well wait until 2016 to make his run.<br />But run he will.Jimhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12927133938857523885noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7477695315431782739.post-39592481781614363692008-12-06T12:48:00.001-06:002008-12-06T12:50:50.715-06:00Mimi says you know you're from Louisiana whenFrom Mimi at <a href="http://thewoundedbird.blogspot.com/">The Wounded Bird</a><br /><br /><em>1. You measure distance in minutes.</em><br /><em>2. You've ever had to switch from 'heat' to 'A/C' in the same day.</em><br /><em>3. You use 'fix' as a verb. Example: 'I'm fixing to go to the store '</em><br /><em>4. All the festivals across the state are named after a fruit, vegetable, grain, insect or animal.</em><br /><em>5. You install security lights on your house and garage and leave both unlocked.</em><br /><em>6. You know what a 'DAWG' is.</em><br /><em>7. You carry jumper cables in your car...for your OWN car.</em><br /><em>8. You only own five spices: Tony Chachere, salt, pepper, Tabasco, and ketchup.</em><br /><em>9. The local papers cover national and international news on one page but require 6 pages for local gossip and sports.</em><br /><em>10. You think that the first day of deer season is a national holiday.</em><br /><em>11. You find 100 degrees Fahrenheit 'a little warm'.</em><br /><em>12. You know all four seasons: Deer Season, Duck Season, Crawfish Season, Summer.</em><br /><em>13. You know whether another LOUISIANIAN is from, north or south, as soon as they start talking (speaking).</em><br /><em>14. Going to Wal-mart is a favorite past time known as 'goin Wal-martin'or'off to Wally World'?</em><br /><em>15. You describe the first cool snap (below 70 degrees) as good gumbo weather. YEP!</em><br /><em>16. A carbonated soft drink isn't a soda, cola or pop...it's a Coke, regardless of brand or flavor.Example: 'What kinda coke you want?' (Comment: I call them all soft drinks; Grandpère calls them soda pop.)</em><br /><em>17. Fried catfish is the other white meat.</em><br /><em>18. We don't need no stinking driver's Ed...if our mama says we can drive, we can drive.</em><br /><em>19. You understand these jokes and forward them to your friends from LOUISIANA (and those who just wish they were). </em><br /><em>Not EVERYONE can be a LOUISIANIAN, it's an art form and a gift from God.</em><br /><em>Geaux TIGERS!</em>Jimhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12927133938857523885noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7477695315431782739.post-38379106384967163502008-12-04T16:24:00.002-06:002008-12-04T16:26:58.411-06:00Jindal Texas Fundraiser<a href="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/_9L8GC8p-Fz0/SThY-IYnyBI/AAAAAAAAA9M/6hfb5gDliJY/s1600-h/texas.gif"><img id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5276064787890423826" style="FLOAT: left; MARGIN: 0px 10px 10px 0px; WIDTH: 184px; CURSOR: hand; HEIGHT: 182px" alt="" src="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/_9L8GC8p-Fz0/SThY-IYnyBI/AAAAAAAAA9M/6hfb5gDliJY/s200/texas.gif" border="0" /></a>As Gov. Bobby Jindal continues to draw attention as a rising star and possible national candidate for Republicans in 2012 or 2016, he insists that he has the job he wants right here in Louisiana. But that doesn't mean he won't leave the state to raise a little cash for his campaign account. His next such trip starts today, with plans for a fundraiser tonight in San Antonio and Friday afternoon in Houston.<br /><p>The fundraisers were described in his official schedule only as "private events" for Jindal's re-election campaign. Melissa Sellers, Jindal's communications director, declined to share more information about where the events would be, who is hosting and how much is being sought from potential donors.</p><p>The one-day swing through the Lone Star state follows several recent trips out of state for Jindal, including a previous trip to Houston, though on that October stop he was attending a fundraiser for a Republican congressional candidate. Jindal's most high-profile jaunt was a weekend in Iowa, long the first presidential caucus state, last month. He visited officials in communities affected by Mississippi River flooding and addressed an Iowa Family Policy Center dinner attended by several social conservative leaders with strong sway in the state's Republican presidential sweepstakes. </p><p>The 37-year-old governor also logged miles to Washington, D.C.; Greenwich, Conn.; and Gainesville, Fla., the last stop falling on the day of the LSU-Florida football game, which Jindal did not attend. Florida donors paid $1,000 each to attend the event at a private residence.<br /><br /><a href="http://www.nola.com/" target="_blank">Times-Picayune</a> by way of <a href="http://lanewslink.com/index.php">LaNewsLink</a></p>Jimhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12927133938857523885noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7477695315431782739.post-91640138934988113812008-11-23T19:01:00.004-06:002008-11-23T19:03:36.899-06:00Joe the Plumber likes JindalFor what it's worth, The Times Picayune reports that Joe the Plumber likes Bobby:<br /><br /><em>Louisiana Governor Bobby Jindal picked up another admirer recently as his national profile continues to grow amid post-election Republican hand-wringing. </em><br /><em>The latest member of the Jindal fan club is Joe the plumber, as in Joe Wurzelbacher, the Ohio man who became famous for questioning then-Demoratic presidential candidate Barack Obama's tax proposals. </em><br /><em>Wurzelbacher, who eventually identified himself as a Republican and supporter of GOP nominee John McCain, told the Tufts University student newspaper last week: "The party should remember that they are conservative Republicans. That has been forgotten. They no longer hold to their ideals. They blow with the wind on just about every public opinion poll. So they are not right wing; they are trying to show that they're middle or even left-of-middle sometimes. . . . </em><br /><em>Gov. Jindal of Louisiana seems to have the right idea. We have got to get back to the grass-roots of the Republican Party and not apologize for being conservative." </em>Jimhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12927133938857523885noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7477695315431782739.post-55326052639014416132008-11-22T10:47:00.001-06:002008-11-22T10:49:32.653-06:00Louisiana moves from 50th to 49th in Economic CompetitivenessFrom <a href="http://forgotston.com/">C. B. Forgotston</a><br /><br /><em>People say I never bring good news. Today I bring you good news or what passes for good news when it comes to the performance of our state government.<br />LA has moved from 50th place to 49th place in economic competitiveness according to the latest national study.<br />See the report </em><a href="http://www.beaconhill.org/Compete08/BHIState08-FINAL.pdf"><em>here</em></a><br /><em>We’re now one notch ahead of Mississippi which dropped from 49th to 50th.<br />Interestingly, I’ve not gotten a press release from Bobby Jindal’s office taking credit for this upward move. He claims credit for everything “positive” that happens in the state. Bobby should get all the credit he deserves for this latest ranking. Perhaps the national talk show hosts will ask him about it.</em><br /><em></em><br />They may ask him, but it won't be today. He's in Iowa talking to the corn . . .Jimhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12927133938857523885noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7477695315431782739.post-12264276600994336522008-11-12T16:59:00.003-06:002008-11-12T19:24:43.809-06:00Louisiana has cornfields tooI wasn't suprised when Bobby Jindal announced that he planned to attend a fundraising event in Iowa later this month.<br />After all, the election is over and the new one - 2012 - is beginning (these things get longer and longer).<br />I heard that he said on Tuesday that he "<a href="http://www.nola.com/news/index.ssf/2008/11/governor_bobby_jindal_says_he.html">politely declined</a>" the opportunity to be on John McCain's short list for the vice presidency.<br />No surprise there - 2008 was not a Republican year and everyone knew it. Jindal, who is proving to be a consummate politician, knew that he didn't need to be part of a losing team.<br />I wasn't surprised that his planned visit came two days after <a href="http://www.desmoinesregister.com/article/20081110/NEWS/81110031/1001/NEWS">Mike Huckabee</a> just happened to be there.<br />No, what puzzled me was his reason for going. "They’ve got cornfields. I’ve never been to Iowa before."<br />Cornfields, huh? We have cornfields in Louisiana; I'm sure Jindal has seen them on his travels. I spent some time in the midwest and I can tell you that one cornfield is hardly distinguishable from another, in other words, a Louisiana cornfield looks just like an Iowa cornfield.<br />No, there had to be a political connection. Perhaps some special communion between the candidate and the cornfield lends itself to discernment and understanding of one's role in the universe.<br />Then I found the answer, just as I suspected. Talking to the corn has a precedent.<br />If it worked for him, perhaps it can work for Bobby too.<br /><br /><a href="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/_9L8GC8p-Fz0/SRtgJEihnXI/AAAAAAAAA50/DuwFTZDkAhA/s1600-h/cornfield.jpg"><img id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5267909898093567346" style="DISPLAY: block; MARGIN: 0px auto 10px; WIDTH: 400px; CURSOR: hand; HEIGHT: 267px; TEXT-ALIGN: center" alt="" src="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/_9L8GC8p-Fz0/SRtgJEihnXI/AAAAAAAAA50/DuwFTZDkAhA/s400/cornfield.jpg" border="0" /></a> <div></div>Jimhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12927133938857523885noreply@blogger.com4tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7477695315431782739.post-12342466718320539072008-11-08T12:31:00.003-06:002008-11-08T12:37:54.735-06:00Video: Jindal 2012?<object height="350" width="425"><param name="movie" value="http://www.youtube.com/v/EBo3njKn_XU"><br /> <embed src="http://www.youtube.com/v/EBo3njKn_XU" type="application/x-shockwave-flash" width="425" height="350"></embed> </object>Jimhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12927133938857523885noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7477695315431782739.post-34934133005236064852008-11-06T21:51:00.003-06:002008-11-06T22:03:36.346-06:00Jindal for President?With the sound defeat of the McCain-Palin ticket and the election of Barack Obama as president, the Republican party will be looking to 2012 to stage a comeback. A lot of people and pundits are touting the name of Bobby Jindal.<br />A few are suggesting a Palin-Jindal ticket. In my opinion, this will never happen. I think that by 2012 Palin fever will have cooled dramatically, while Jindal will have been working the rubber chicken circuit, fundraising and making lots of new friends.<br />Jindal says, of course, that running for president is the furthrest thing from his mind.<br />Right.<br />That's why he will be in Iowa later this month for a fundraising appearance.<br />Reprinted from <a href="http://mybossier.blogspot.com/2008/11/jindal-2012.html">My Bossier</a><br /><br /><a href="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/_9L8GC8p-Fz0/SRO71zb-MBI/AAAAAAAAA5k/RnhUmmkm7c0/s1600-h/aaaaaiowa.jpg"><img id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5265758922341232658" style="DISPLAY: block; MARGIN: 0px auto 10px; WIDTH: 273px; CURSOR: hand; HEIGHT: 400px; TEXT-ALIGN: center" alt="" src="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/_9L8GC8p-Fz0/SRO71zb-MBI/AAAAAAAAA5k/RnhUmmkm7c0/s400/aaaaaiowa.jpg" border="0" /></a>Jimhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12927133938857523885noreply@blogger.com6tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7477695315431782739.post-82624700776482216332008-10-31T16:41:00.000-05:002008-10-31T16:42:03.433-05:00Louisiana Voters are Irrelevant in presidential electionThursday, October 30th, 2008<br />Baton Rouge, Louisiana<br />LOUISIANA VOTERS ARE IRRELEVANT<br />IN PRESIDENTIAL ELECTION<br />Louisiana voters are gearing up for election day in record numbers. Spurred on by the presidential election, more than one quarter of a million people cast absentee ballots which is an all-time record. And for good reason. This is certainly one of the most important elections in modern history. But if you live in Louisiana, your vote is looked on as irrelevant to the process. Your sway on who will win American Idol has more influence than who will be the next president of the United States.<br />Louisiana has been written off as a “red state,” which means, for all practical purposes, your vote does not count. You might as well write in “none of the above” or leave a hanging chad. Why? Look no further than the Electoral College. We are about to elect our country’s and the world’s most powerful leader, but the system we have in place causes us to abdicate our right to have our vote count.<br />Under the present system, the Electoral College rules require that all the state’s electoral votes go to the winner, no matter how close the election might have been. If, for example, Obama gets 45% of the Louisiana votes, he still gets 0% of the Louisiana electoral votes. If McCain ends up winning by one vote in Louisiana, he receives all of Louisiana’s electoral votes. In fact, it is mathematically possible for one of the candidates to get 49% of the popular vote and 100% of electoral votes. Go figure.<br /> Right now, there are fewer than 10 competitive “battleground” states that are receiving the focus and the money from the presidential candidates. In a state like Louisiana, where McCain will easily win, or a state like New York, where Obama is a cinch, why even vote for president? All of the electoral delegates get assigned to the winner, and we know who the winner is going to be, so your vote for president, for all practical purposes, has been taken away.<br /> Now when it comes to other statewide races on the ballot, like Governor or U.S. Senator, strangely enough, we use the popular vote. So what is so important about having the electoral vote system that allows Louisiana voters and the voters in the majority of the states in this country to be disenfranchised in a presidential election? An idiosyncratic system that on four occasions in our nation’s history has created a quagmire where the winner of the largest number of popular votes did not win the largest number of electoral votes, and therefore did not become president. Remember some guy named Al Gore?<br />The system in place was confected in the early days of the republic by our founders, where electors were supposed to be independent agents exercising their best judgment in choosing a presidential candidate from a list of several contenders. Why? Because the Framers of the Constitution, our Founding Fathers, the champions of democracy, did not trust the voters to make an intelligent choice. Check out these quotes from the Constitutional Convention of 1787.<br /> “The extent of the country renders a popular vote impossible, that the people can have the requisite capacity to judge of the respective pretensions of the candidates.” Delegate Mason, July 17, 1787.<br />“A popular election in this case is radically vicious. The ignorance of the people would put it in the power of some one set of men and throughout the Union, and acting in concert, to delude them into any appointment.” Delegate Gerry. July 25, 1787.<br />“The people are uninformed, and would be misled by a few designing men.” Delegate Johnson, July 19, 1787.<br />So what this all comes down to is that the Founding Fathers were trying their best to insulate the selection of the president from the whims of the public. They didn’t trust voters then and the system does not trust you now to make your choice. So because of conservative political persuasions, Louisiana is left out of any serious attention from the presidential candidates.<br />Since receiving their respective nominations, neither McCain nor Obama have set foot in Louisiana. Neither candidate has said a word about hurricane recovery, wetlands protection, or supporting a larger percentage of oil and gas revenues for the state off the Louisiana coast. From each of their perspectives, Louisiana issues are irrelevant in the current campaign. Their just is no political capital to gain by either coming to or speaking about the Bayou State.<br />By being so out of the mix, just what else is Louisiana missing? How about the lack of all that attention? No knocks on the door by college students from out of state with leaflets about what an old, unhealthy guy John McCain is. No robo-calls in the middle of dinner telling you that Barack Obama is a terrorist. And no presidential TV ads. In Louisiana, you are left out of the national political bombardment that is taking place in the likes of Ohio, Pennsylvania and Florida where those voters are taught that McCain is a Bush clone and that Obama will socialize the country. Besides those paid for by state and local candidates, all we get are ads about bladder control and erectile dysfunction.<br />There are a number of reforms being considered for future elections. A proportional electorial vote by congressional districts is as compromise solution that makes sense. In the meantime, don’t forget to go vote for a number of candidates and propositions on the ballot next Tuesday. Your vote might make the difference in many of these local and state races. That is except for President. In this election, you really are irrelevant.<br /> *******<br />"We've said it before, and we'll say it again - the American Electoral College system sucks. The Daily IowanThe Daily Iowan. (23 Sept 2004). Editorial/Opinion. "Long past time to fix Electoral College." <br />Peace and Justice<br />Jim Brown<br />Jim Brown’s column appears weekly, and is published in a number of newspapers and websites throughout Louisiana. You can read past columns by going to Jim’s website at <a href="http://www.jimbrownla.com/">www.jimbrownla.com</a>. Jim’s regular radio show on WRNO, 995fm out of New Orleans can be heard each Sunday from 11:00 am till 1:00 pm.Jimhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12927133938857523885noreply@blogger.com8tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7477695315431782739.post-81151540279398090172008-10-24T15:24:00.003-05:002008-10-24T15:30:04.377-05:00Bobby in Bossier ParishThe guv stopped by the Bossier Parish Courthouse the other afternoon for a short Town Hall meeting, news interviews and a picture with a group of high-schoolers.<br />Not his first visit to Benton, and surely won't be his last. Bossier Parish is only one of two parishes in Louisiana with more Republicans registered than Democrats.<br />Next month, after the election, he's off to Iowa. Looks like he is starting early on a run for 2012; apparently he believes the polls and is looking for an Obama victory.<br /><a href="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/_9L8GC8p-Fz0/SQIv_G88X8I/AAAAAAAAA4E/so9lWXDpa3M/s1600-h/aaaaaiowa.jpg"><img id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5260820075966652354" style="DISPLAY: block; MARGIN: 0px auto 10px; WIDTH: 273px; CURSOR: hand; HEIGHT: 400px; TEXT-ALIGN: center" alt="" src="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/_9L8GC8p-Fz0/SQIv_G88X8I/AAAAAAAAA4E/so9lWXDpa3M/s400/aaaaaiowa.jpg" border="0" /></a>Jimhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12927133938857523885noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7477695315431782739.post-28803687584115568762008-10-18T12:06:00.004-05:002008-10-18T12:12:16.544-05:00The Senate Race: Which Democrat do you like better?I am so unexcited by the Louisiana Senate race that I haven't posted anything about it yet. <a href="http://action.marylandrieu.com/page/s/signup">Mary Landrieu</a> has 2 terms under her (ample) belt and has built up some deep support throughout the state.<br /><br /><a href="http://www.johnkennedy.com/">John Kennedy</a>. How can you trust anything he says? He was all for Kerry in 2004 when he was running against David Vitter and was actually considered more liberal than Landrieu. Now, he says he is a mavericky Republican like John McCain. I can think of better adjectives than 'maverick', but I won't use them here. Check their websites and make up your mind, none of my sage advice in this one.<br /><br /><strong>On the Race for the Fourth Congressional District</strong><br />The Fourth District Congressional race is in full swing. Runoffs will be held on general election day, November 4th, for the Republicans and Democrats. The election itself will be held in December. On the Republican side, <a href="http://www.gorman08.com/">Chris Gorman</a> has just released an ad decrying the $700,000,000,000 bailout plan in this video:<br /><br /><object height="160" width="200"><param name="movie" value="http://www.youtube.com/v/bc2n4OlMwnM&color1=0xb1b1b1&color2=0xcfcfcf&hl=en&fs=1"><param name="allowFullScreen" value="true"><br /><embed src="http://www.youtube.com/v/bc2n4OlMwnM&color1=0xb1b1b1&color2=0xcfcfcf&hl=en&fs=1" type="application/x-shockwave-flash" allowfullscreen="true" width="200" height="160"></embed></object><br /><br />This seems to be in contradiction to the wonderful words he had for Jim McCrery:"<em>Louisiana’s Fourth District has been honorably served by Congressman Jim McCrery for many years. At the same time we honor him for his service, we look to the future and the opportunities that await us. I am a conservative Republican and I plan to bring our shared Louisiana values to the United States Congress</em>."<br />I hate to tell Mr. Gorman, but McCrery voted for the bailout. The man he is praising is one of those big spenders he talks about in the video.<br />The race between Gorman and <a href="http://www.flemingforcongress.com/">Dr. John Fleming</a> promises to get very nasty.Democrats also face a runoff between <a href="http://www.carmoucheforcongress.com/">Paul Carmouche</a> and <a href="http://www.colonelbanks.com/">Willie Banks</a>, but this one will be milquetoast compared to the Republican race.<br />There are also two independents on the ballot in December, <a href="http://electbowenjr.com/">Gerard Bowen, Jr.</a> and <a href="http://www.bothpartiesarescrewingyou.com/index.html">Chester Kelley</a>. My choice is Gerard Bowen, Jr., who says "If we keep sending the same kind of people to congress, we will keep getting the same results".<br /><br />Think about it.Jimhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12927133938857523885noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7477695315431782739.post-23275573837388056642008-10-09T16:32:00.001-05:002008-10-09T16:33:31.655-05:00A Visit with Bobby Jindal (for $25,000)Thursday, October 9th, 2008<br />Baton Rouge, Louisiana<br />A VISIT WITH BOBBY JINDAL<br />For 25 GRAND<br />So you are going to the LSU – Florida game this Saturday night in Gainesville… right? And while you are there, why not stop off at a local residence in nearby Alachua, Florida. Louisiana Governor Bobby Jindal will be there to greet you. For only $10,000, you can have a photo op with him. If you bring $25,000, you can participate in a roundtable discussion with Jindal. Who could possibly pass up an opportunity like this?<br />The fund raiser, by the way, is being co hosted by a large group of prominent Florida Republicans, including the Florida House Speaker and the House Majority Leader. (To read the full invitation, go to the homepage of <a href="http://www.jimbrownla.com/">http://www.jimbrownla.com/</a>.) This is just one of a series of political events that have either featured the Louisiana governor, or have been given in his behalf around the country in the past few months.<br />Vice President Dick Cheney was in Louisiana earlier this week to help raise money on behalf of several Republican candidates for Congress. A photo op with the VP would only cost you $2300. But here’s the difference. Cheney is a lame duck on his way out. Bobby Jindal’s stature as the Republican Party’s fair haired boy for the future continues to grow. And when people give you $25,000 just to sit around and talk for a while, he obviously has his sights set beyond the Louisiana borders.<br />The 08 presidential election is still some three weeks away, and anything can happen. But partisans on both sides are reading the daily tracking polls. Barack Obama’s numbers are on the rise, and Senator John McCain has an uphill battle to overcome the knock that Republican policies are a substantial cause of the present financial crisis. If McCain loses on November 4, all this talk of Jindal as a vice presidential candidate in 2012 will go by the wayside. A Louisiana Governor, merely thinking about reelection, does not fly off to Florida for the weekend and get $10,000 a pop just to have his picture taken with campaign contributors.<br />Why would any candidate start so early organizing and raising campaign funds for a race that is still more than four years away? This is exactly the path taken by a number of successful presidential aspirants in years past. Jindal is not the only one who was considered for vice president, not selected, then who immediately begin planning for a presidential run in the next election cycle.<br />Former President John Kennedy comes to mind when he made an all-out effort to be Adali Stevenson’s running mate back in 1956. Kennedy was bypassed on the ticket (just like Jindal this time around), but immediately began planning for a presidential run four years in advance. And Kennedy was just one year older than Jindal when he too missed out on the vice presidential nomination.<br />Former President Jimmy Carter hoped to be George McGovern’s pick at the Democratic convention in 1972. He had only been elected as Governor of Georgia less than two years earlier. Carter was a long shot, but he knew his political history. He had followed John Kennedy’s 1956 VP bid, and observed that, though unsuccessful, Kennedy’s efforts had paid great dividends in public awareness. Carter immediately began preparing for a successful presidential run that was four years away.<br />Bill Clinton’s first major foray into national politics occurred when he was enlisted to speak at the 1988 Democratic national convention, introducing candidate Michael Dukakis. Clinton’s address, scheduled to last 15 minutes, became a debacle as he gave a notoriously dull speech that lasted over a half an hour (he joked about the length of his speech at the 1992 convention).<br />Despite this setback, Bill Clinton prepared immediately after the 88 election for a run in 1992 against incumbent President George H. W. Bush. In the aftermath of the Persian Gulf War, President Bush seemed unbeatable, and several potential Democratic candidates – notably New York Governor Mario Cuomo –passed on what seemed to be a lost cause. But, ala Jindal, Clinton was persistent and worked tirelessly for the nomination four years in advance.<br />How about forays of Louisiana politicians who waded into the national political scene? We all know of Governor Huey Long’s interest in running for president back in the 1930s. And former Louisiana Governor John McKeithen was a serious contender for Vice President on a Hubert Humphrey ticket in 1968. Before his death, Senator Russell Long told me Humphrey had indicated to him he would pick McKeithen. At the last minute, he opted out for Maine Senator Edmund Muskie.<br />And you might be surprised at this Louisiana politician who considered running for president back in 1980. Would you believe Edwin Edwards? The former Louisiana Governor was at the height of his popularity in 1976, and though a democrat, actively supported then President Gerald Ford for re-election. Edwards felt Jimmy Carter was a light weight, and never had much respect for him.<br />About a year into Carter’s term, I was on airplane with the governor flying back to Baton Rouge following a dedication of a hospital up in Northeast Louisiana where I had been elected as state senator. As was my habit, I brought a book along to read during the flight. On this trip, I was reading “Marathon-The Pursuit of the Presidency” by longtime Washington correspondent Jules Witcover. Edwards inquired as to what I was reading, and I told him it was a step by step guide as to how the early efforts by Carter had won him the presidency.<br />A few days later, Edwards called me at my home in Ferriday, asked if I still had the book, and if so, could he borrow it. I asked him if he was considering running for president. He said he was far from impressed over the job that Carter was doing in the White House, and that he was going to be making some speeches around the country just to “pick up the pulse on Carter and see what response I might get.” A few months later, Edwards came under a negative light regarding his relationship with South Korean lobbyist Tonjun Park, and any national political hopes were put on the sidelines.<br />Four years used to be a lifetime in both national and local politics. But experience has shown that if you want to be a viable candidate on the national scene, then it is already time to start planning for 2012. Bobby Jindal has a full plate load of problems right here in Louisiana. But so did Jimmy Carter, Ronald Reagan, Bill Clinton, George Bush, and a host of other governors who aspired to national office. With the accolades he is receiving throughout the country and his aggressive out of state fund-raising efforts, Jindal seems to be laying the framework for a legitimate run in 2012.<br />*********<br />“Democracy means that anyone can grow up to be president, and anyone who doesn’t grow up can be vice president.” Johnny Carson<br />Peace and Justice<br />Jim Brown<br />Jim Brown’s weekly column appears in a number of newspapers and websites throughout the State of Louisiana. You can read Jim’s Blog, and take his weekly poll, plus read his columns going back to the fall of 2002 by going to his own website at <a href="http://www.jimbrownla.com/">http://www.jimbrownla.com/</a>.<br />Jim also has a new book out on his views of Louisiana. You can read about it and order it by going to <a href="http://www.jimbrownla.com/">http://www.jimbrownla.com/</a>. .<br />Jim’s radio show on WRNO (995 fm) from New Orleans can be heard each Sunday, from 11:00 am until 1:00 pm.Jimhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12927133938857523885noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7477695315431782739.post-2780548481989353762008-10-04T13:41:00.002-05:002008-10-04T13:42:06.826-05:00Secession?Thursday, October 2nd, 2008<br />Baton Rouge, Louisiana<br />SHOULD LOUISIANA SECEDE FROM THE UNION?<br />We know that all good things have to come to an end. In Louisiana, we have tried the statehood thing for 205 years, but “maybe it’s just not working out.” Hey, Alaska Governor Sarah Palin has flirted with the same idea up in Alaska. The federal government continues to shortchange Louisiana on virtually every federal program, from hurricane recovery funds to a fair shake on offshore oil royalties. So since Sarah Palin has raised the issue, maybe we in Louisiana should start considering the option of seceding from the Union and becoming our own nation.<br />You have got to hand it to those folks in Alaska. They have done a pretty shrewd job of figuring out how to lead the nation in raising taxes per capita, yet making the rest of the country pay for it. Alaska is number one in spending for residents, and its tax burden is 2 1/2 times the national average per capita. Its spending is twice the national average per capita. Their trick up north is that Alaska’s government spends enormous sums on its own citizens, and taxes the rest of us to pay for it.<br />For all practical purposes, Alaska is an adjunct member of OPEC. More than 89% of the state’s income is produced through four different taxes on oil and gas. And consider this. The state government takes three quarters of the value of a barrel of oil before the oil is permitted to leave the state. Alaskans pay no income tax, no statewide sales tax, and no property tax. And every a resident gets a yearly check for about $2000 from oil revenues, plus an additional $1200 confected by Sarah Palin last year to take advantage of rising oil prices.<br />The disparities of the two states, one north and one south, are dramatic when it comes to receiving federal funds from Washington. A typical example is the comparison of federal reimbursement to nursing homes that take care of the poor under the Medicaid program. The same patient that only receives $79 a day in Louisiana receives $317 per day in Alaska. When it comes to federal highway funds, Alaska receives $1.30 for every dollar it sends to Washington as do other states like California and New York. What’s Louisiana’s take? A little over $.90 back for each dollar sent to the National Highway Fund.<br />They play hardball in Alaska, while in Louisiana, the state’s leadership for years has often been pictured sticking out their hat and almost begging for a handout. As Governor, Palin has carried on a flirtation with the Alaska Independence Party (AKIP), and her husband was a card carrying member for a number of years. In an address to the party convention this past spring, Palin told the secessionists: “Keep up the good work.”<br />Palin has received her share of criticism for her secessionist sympathies. The Washington Monthly recently said that the idea of succession is “un – American.” Oh come on now. Maybe those in the press that are taking pot shots at the Alaska Governor for considering secession need to brush up on their American history. A good starting point might be the Declaration of Independence that clearly states:<br />“That these United colonies are, and of right ought to be, free and independent states…… and that, as free and Independent states, they have the full power to levy war, conclude peace, contract alliances, establish commerce, and do all of the things which Independent states may of right do.”<br />And what better source than Thomas Jefferson in his first inaugural address who declared, “if there be among us who would wish to dissolve this Union or to change its republican form, let them stand undisturbed as monuments of the safety with which error of opinion may be tolerated where reason is left free to combat it.”<br />It’s not just a phenomenon stirred up by the residents of the last frontier where there is a movement to break away from the Union. This past July, according to a Zogby poll, more than 20% of US adults—one in five, about the same number of American colonists who supported revolt against England in 1775—agreed that “any state or region has the right to peaceably secede from the United States and become an independent republic.” A number of polls in recent years have indicated that almost half of Louisiana citizens agree that “the United States system is broken and cannot be fixed by traditional two– party politics and elections.”<br />The bottom line is that Alaska shares the same abundance of natural resources as those found in Louisiana. In fact, when you consider seafood, sulfur, agriculture and the largest port in America, the Bayou State has a lot more wealth beneath the ground, on the ground, and along its waterways than our compatriots up in the Yukon. Alaska has rattled its sabers, stood up to big oil in behalf of its citizens, and demanded more than its fair share of the pie from the federal government.<br />In comparison, Louisiana has been groveling for years to get a bigger slice of the offshore oil payouts. Louisiana officials declared a big victory last year when the feds agreed to give a pittance of $20 million a year for the next 10 years. Alaska would have considered such a settlement chump change, and would probably have started a secession movement along with a wall around its borders.<br />Seceding from the Union and becoming its own nation might prove to be an attractive option for Louisiana. If Mississippi wants to join us, we might even agree to create “a coastal nation of Louisissippi.” The French would be appalled, but who cares.<br />As for leadership? I would probably stick with Bobby Jindal as president. But if LSU coach Les Miles pulls off another national championship, he would certainly be a contender. If Lindy Boggs were a bit younger, she would be my first choice as Ambassador to the United States. Harry Connick Jr. would fill the bill nicely. We would definitely need to bring back General Russel Honore’, who told me how much he loves Louisiana, as our Secretary of Defense. A piece of cake here, since the US would be our protector, just like it is for Mexico and Canada. And for free. Our national flag would be a combination of black and gold and purple and gold, and we would certainly want Randy Newman to write our national anthem.<br />Over the past 200 years, Louisiana has been in a marriage of convenience. In 1913, the state entered this marriage with the rest of the US, and got a lot out of it. They received access to the American markets, and the flow of goods through New Orleans. It was a two way street and benefits flowed both ways. But by the middle of the 20th century, the bargain disappeared. Both the oil and the royalties flowed out of Louisiana with little to show in return.<br />So don’t knock Sarah Palin when she flirts with secession. Alaska has cut a good deal for itself. Maybe Louisiana should rise up and do the same<br />*******<br />“We used to root for the Indians against the cavalry, because we didn't think it was fair in the history books that when the cavalry won it was a great victory, and when the Indians won it was a massacre.” ~Dick Gregory<br />Peace and Justice.<br />Jim Brown<br />Jim Brown’s column appears weekly, and is published on a number of newspapers and websites throughout Louisiana. You can read past columns by going to Jim’s website at <a href="http://www.jimbrownla.com/">http://www.jimbrownla.com/</a>. Jim’s regular radio show on WRNO, 995fm out of New Orleans can be heard each Sunday from 11:00 am till 1:00 pm.Jimhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12927133938857523885noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7477695315431782739.post-18568413150218602292008-09-26T18:26:00.000-05:002008-09-26T18:27:27.318-05:00GreedThursday, September 25th, 2008<br />Baton Rouge, Louisiana<br /><br /><strong>GREED IS GOOD IN LOUISIANA</strong><br /><br />The national financial crisis finds Wall Street and financial regulators scurrying for cover, and trying to find a quick fix to financial problems that have festered for years. It's puzzling that there is been nary a peep out of Louisiana officials, particularly in light of the fact that lack of regulation of the very financial institutions creating this meltdown has been part of the culture of Louisiana regulators for years. Where is the outrage by Louisiana members of Congress? And why have Louisiana legislators failed to address a number of serious financial problems right here at home?<br />Oh you will hear that this is a federal problem, and there is not much which Louisiana officials can do about the financial meltdown. But even though there is plenty of blame to go around, at least in other states, there is a scurrying of effort to tighten the regulatory system that in recent years has acquired a laissez-faire mindset.<br /><br />So can we get a simple explanation as to exactly what happened? Here's a quick summary. In the old days (pre-1990s), if you wanted to buy a new home, you went down to your banker or savings and loan to submit a financial plan. A solid down payment was required, generally 20%, that you might have obtained by saving a little each month over a number of years. You had to show the bank or savings and loan that you had decent credit, and that you had a job. You had to have some income coming in. The financial institution would check out your credit, and if you qualified, then, and only then, did you become a homeowner. Your loan was approved.<br /><br />That all changed in recent years, driven by Wall Street greed that required more churning of large blocks of money to create more fees to line their pockets. Your bank or savings and loan no longer required a down payment. And the money was cheap, often financed by state government. Banks were encouraged to loan to almost anyone, and if the loan defaulted, there always seemed to be some state or federal program to pay it off.<br /><br />While the financial markets were churning and loaning all this money, they were supposed to hold something back in reserve. Loans fail. You have to have a safety net. And here' is where state and federal regulators really dropped the ball. For every $30 loaned out, there was often as little is only one dollar held back. That just was not enough. Not enough in reserve. So the economy began to slow down, a number of people lost their jobs, they could not pay their home loans, and defaults begin to take place in pretty sizable numbers. When major Wall Street firms like AIG, which has a major presence in Louisiana, began getting cash calls, they had to put up big bucks. And they just didn't have the money to put up.<br /><br />Here is how companies like AIG got into trouble. They began insuring something called credit default swaps, which any way you slice it is an insurance policy. AIG was insuring against the possibility that a bank or other lender would not be able to pay on its obligations. Now I know all this sounds complicated. Simply put, AIG was selling insurance to be sure that banks or other lenders would continue financing new homeowners.<br /><br />Now all these "credit default swaps” have been packaged in something called derivatives. These derivatives were bought by banks all over the world. And you know what? They were not regulated. Insurance regulators, including those in Louisiana, turned their heads, and let these insurance products be bundled and sold with no oversight.<br /><br />Banks and insurance companies are supposed to have certain regulatory capital requirements. They have to have so much money on hand. They have to have funds available when it's time to pay claims. Surprisingly, these unregulated derivatives were able to be counted towards those requirements of having money available. Simply put, the derivatives were allowed by financial regulators to be bought by banks to get around their regulatory capital requirements. It was a sham. Because you just don't know what the derivatives are worth. A bank or insurance company may say the derivatives are worth $1 million, when in actuality, they end up selling for only $100,000. It's often very hard to tell just what they're worth. And that's why it's imperative the derivatives be regulated. But they, unfortunately, are not.<br /><br />The New York insurance department has jumped into this financial mess big time, obviously trying to cover their you know what. They will immediately begin regulating the use of credit default swaps since they now admit that such products are insurance that should have been regulated all along. At least they have the courage to face up in New York about their failure to give proper oversight. Here is what the New York insurance commissioner said this week: "It's about the government choosing not to regulate, standing by and doing nothing. That is what is shaking up the world today."<br /><br />Warren Buffett, who has always been considered one of the shrewdest financial investors and wealthiest men in America, recently called these insurance products, these credit default swaps, "financial weapons of mass destruction." Former President Bill Clinton was on the David Letterman show this week, and also laid blame at the feet of regulators, saying: "There were not enough financial reserves required, and there surely was not enough regulation."<br /><br />AIG and other financial institutions have a significant presence in Louisiana. Many Louisiana homeowners are insured by AIG and its subsidiaries. A number Louisiana banks are directly tied to the bundling of these credit default swaps. If the Governor and other state officials continue to express concerns about Louisiana's image, they may want to focus in on the lack of financial regulation. It's not just a national problem. It festers right here in our own backyard<br /><br /> *******<br /><br />“The point is, ladies and gentleman, that greed, for lack of a better word, is good. Greed is right, greed works. Greed clarifies, cuts through, and captures the essence of the evolutionary spirit. Greed, in all of its forms; greed for life, for money, for love, knowledge has marked the upward surge of mankind.”<br /> Gordon Gekko- “Wall Street”<br /><br />Peace and Justice.<br /> Jim Brown<br /><br /> Jim Brown’s column appears weekly, and is published in a number of newspapers and on websites throughout Louisiana. You can read past columns by going to Jim’s website at <a href="http://www.jimbrownla.com/">www.jimbrownla.com</a>. Jim’s regular radio show on WRNO, 995fm out of New Orleans can be heard each Sunday from 11:00 am till 1:00 pm. It is streamed live, world-wide at WRNO.com.Jimhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12927133938857523885noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7477695315431782739.post-91060889729050766122008-09-26T07:42:00.002-05:002008-09-26T07:44:09.660-05:00No Bailout!<div align="center"><a href="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/_9L8GC8p-Fz0/SNzY-u2hqQI/AAAAAAAAAyo/lFFYgUvW4z8/s1600-h/aaaabailout.jpg"><img id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5250309837847374082" style="DISPLAY: block; MARGIN: 0px auto 10px; CURSOR: hand; TEXT-ALIGN: center" alt="" src="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/_9L8GC8p-Fz0/SNzY-u2hqQI/AAAAAAAAAyo/lFFYgUvW4z8/s400/aaaabailout.jpg" border="0" /></a> Sign the petition <a href="http://conservativehq.com/active-petitions/petition-to-stop-the-bailout/">here</a>.<br />H/T to <a href="http://centrallapolitics.blogspot.com/">Central La Politics</a><br /><a href="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/_9L8GC8p-Fz0/SNzY5tTm0RI/AAAAAAAAAyg/5JM7upXmtWI/s1600-h/aaaabailout.jpg"></a><br /></div>Jimhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12927133938857523885noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7477695315431782739.post-60223640093835917512008-09-18T13:39:00.000-05:002008-09-18T13:40:29.884-05:00Jindal could face new problemsThursday, September 18th, 2008<br />Baton Rouge, Louisiana<br /><br />WHILE NATIONAL STAR SHINES,<br />JINDAL COULD FACE BIG FINANCIAL PROBLEMS IN LOUISIANA<br /><br />To say that Louisiana Governor Bobby Jindal’s political stock continues to rise would be an understatement. He has been regularly profiled as a future presidential candidate in a number of national publications. And on the speaking circuit, the Louisiana governor is in high demand from coast to coast. But the perilous condition of the US financial system could cause some major economic problems in Louisiana. And the financial chaos that is taking place right now might well have a direct impact on the Governor's future plans.<br /><br />If you want to get an idea of how Jindal is being perceived around the rest of the country, take a gander at the latest addition of Esquire magazine. The 75th anniversary issue profiles the most influential people in the world today. A one page profile is given to such luminaries as Russian Prime Minister Vladimir Putin, Chinese Communist leader Deng Xiaoping, Bill Gates, Bill Clinton, Hezbollah Head in Lebanon Hassan Nasrallah, Oprah Winfrey, and Barack Obama. One page each. Bobby Jindal is given 10 pages.<br /><br />Want to get in early and reserve the website addresses of Jindalforpresident.com or Jindal/Palin.com? You are too late. The names and others that are similar have already been bought up. And with the Louisiana recovery efforts slowing down a bit, Jindal will receive homage from Vice President Dick Cheney when he comes to Baton Rouge on October 6th to attend a Cassidy for Congress fund raiser. Then the following day, the Governor will welcome Vice Presidential candidate Sarah Palin as she travels to New Orleans for a campaign stop.<br /><br />And how about Bobby Jindal and the first lady posing for their official portrait by noted artist George Rodrigue in front of Louisiana's most famous tree, the Evangeline Oak. (You can view the painting at www.JimBrownla.com.) The Governor's press office seems to be working around the clock outlining all that the Governor has been doing, and how well he's been doing it.<br /><br />Enter a crisis of confidence oozing out of those high temples of capitalism on Wall Street. The potential unraveling of a number of key financial institutions is not an abstract problem. The damage hits directly home to Louisiana businesses, individual investors, and insurance policyholders. Many Louisiana energy stocks dropped in value by 10% or more, and across-the-board, numerous Louisiana companies have suffered significant losses. Thousands of Louisiana investors have seen throughout this year a significant drop in their individual stock portfolios.<br /><br />And yet another big hit for both Louisiana businesses as well as homeowners could be right around the corner. The nation's largest insurance group, AIG, is teetering and in desperate need of a major financial infusion. Company officials have prevailed on the federal government to guarantee more than $85 billion in loans, something unheard of and never before done for an insurance company.<br /><br />This is not just any ordinary insurance company as far as Louisiana is concerned. AIG is a major player for both businesses and homeowners throughout Louisiana. And insurance regulators have often looked away as AIG's problems have mounted. The Teachers Retirement System of Louisiana was forced to sue AIG and its top executives for over $100 million, claiming that key operatives had siphoned off millions by steering business illegally to separate private companies. Louisiana is not the only state involved, yet insurance commissioners throughout the country stood by and did little. If these regulators have done their job, Louisiana citizens would not have had to foot the bill for the Teachers retirement System having to file such a suit in the first place. <br /><br />In the case of other companies like AIG, Louisiana policyholders are at a particular disadvantage. Louisiana is one of the few states that have virtually no independent consumer protection office, and numerous companies like AIG charge at will without any pre-approval process. We have witnessed following the recent Hurricanes how property deductibles, the highest in the country, have caused major disruption in the lives of thousands of Louisiana homeowners. So policyholders are at a great disadvantage, and have to, for all practical purposes, go it alone in making a decision of whether to trust the insurance they are buying. <br /><br />Not only does AIG and its subsidiary companies sell insurance directly to thousands of Louisiana customers, they often act as both broker and re-insurer to back up many other insurance companies that also do business in Louisiana. Bottom line? When AIG gets in trouble, there is the potential for widespread losses both directly and indirectly by thousands of Louisiana businesses and individual policyholders.<br /><br />So how is Governor Bobby Jindal affected? In the vast majority of states, insurance regulators are appointed by the governor. And in the few states that do elect their regulator, the governor has been actively involved in a host of insurance issues. A typical example is Governor Charlie Crist of Florida, who has been in the forefront of pushing legislation to reduce the cost of insurance for both homeowners and drivers all across Florida. Even though Florida, like other key southern states (Mississippi and North Carolina for example) elect their insurance regulator, the Governor is in the middle of the mix. And for obvious reasons. If insurance rates stay high and problems like AIG mount in their respective states, the governor gets the blame.<br /><br />The New York Insurance Department, where AIG is located, has stood by for way too long, and has allowed AIG to fritter a way billions of dollars. And if some quick action is not taken in other states including Louisiana, then Louisiana policyholders may not get their insurance claims paid, while having to bail out, through taxes, companies like AIG who acted irresponsibly.<br /><br />So there's a lesson here for Louisiana Governor Bobby Jindal. Don't stand by and allow problems facing AIG and other insurance companies to fester. Without strong regulation, these insurance problems are only going to get worse. And particularly Louisiana, the Governor needs to take the lead. This is no time to lose some of the luster off his star that in recent weeks has been burning so brightly.<br /> ********<br /> “It's just a job. Grass grows, birds fly, waves pound the sand. I just beat people up.” --Muhammad Ali<br /><br /> Peace and Justice.<br /><br />Jim Brown<br /> Jim Brown’s column appears weekly, and is published on a number of newspapers and websites throughout Louisiana. You can read past columns by going to Jim’s website at <a href="http://www.jimbrownla.com/">www.jimbrownla.com</a>. Jim’s regular radio show on WRNO, 995fm out of New Orleans can be heard each Sunday from 11:00 am till 1:00 pm.Jimhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12927133938857523885noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7477695315431782739.post-8266315490987963652008-09-11T12:51:00.000-05:002008-09-11T12:52:39.252-05:00Jim Brown: Jindal vs PalinThursday, September 11th, 2008<br />Baton Rouge, Louisiana<br /><br />BOBBY JINDAL VS SARAH PALIN<br />IN 2012?<br /><br />For most of us living along the Gulf Coast, national politics has not been of major concern in the past week. Our focus has been post-Gustav and pre- Ike. Many homes did not have electricity in the waning days after Gestalt’s demise, so few were able to spend any time watching the Republican National Convention in Minneapolis. Sarah who?<br /><br /> About the best I was able to do was to take an occasional look from my Clear Channel radio studio to catch a glimpse of my oldest kid on CNN, just to be sure she looked healthy. So last Sunday morning, with a generator riving up my small portable television set with rabbit ears, I sat back with the morning papers and listened to the Sunday morning talk shows. <br /><br />Barrack Obama started off on ABC’s "This Week" with George Stephanopoulos. Talk about Mr. excitement. He rambled, hesitated, and could not been more diffident and blaze. When it came to the puzzling McCain pick of Governor Sarah Palin for Vice President, Obama was asked whether she met the minimum test of being "capable of being president?" You would have thought he would have jumped on that one. His answer? "Well, you know, I'll let you ask John McCain when he's on ABC.” Some knock out punch.<br /><br />Stephanopoulos went on to ask Obama's reaction to an attack on him by former New York Mayor Rudy Giuliani at the Republican convention. "He immersed himself in Chicago machine politics,” said the former New York Mayor. Well, didn’t McCain jump full force into Arizona politics when he "chose" this state to go and run for office? All the candidates were involved in party machine politics. So how did Obama come back full force with an aggressive in-your-face answer? "It's a real puzzling thing." he said in a laid-back fashion. Some tough response.<br /><br />Then it was time to look for Sarah. I had seen a lot of her on the Internet. Well, at least airbrushed photographs that had been e-mailed to me from friends across the country. I did listen to her well rehearsed acceptance speech in Minneapolis, obviously written by the McCain campaign. But I wanted to hear from the lady herself. The successes she'd had as the Alaska Governor. What she knows about foreign-policy. Is she qualified to step in as president if necessary to succeed her 72-year-old standard-bearer?<br /><br />Now the other three national candidates (McCain, Obama, and Biden) all showed up for tough questioning on various Sunday news shows. But Palin was nowhere to be found. When McCain's campaign manager was asked on Fox news why she was a no-show, he made no bones about the fact that the Republican vice presidential nominee would not be available to the press "until they showed a willingness to treat her with some level of respect and deference." Respect? Deference? I can just hear Governor Bobby Jindal saying he will not be available to answer any questions until he has been given "deference" by the press.<br /><br />All in all, it was a pretty bland Sunday for both political parties. The general public is just starting to get interested in the "sizing up process" of these candidates. Seems like it should be time for some straight talk, and certainly making the candidates available for questions. Hurricane coverage proved to be a lot more interesting.<br /><br />Speaking of Bobby Jindal, his political star continues to rise without even attending the Republican national convention. There is almost universal agreement throughout the state that Jindal did a yeoman’s job in micromanaging both the pre storm preparation, and the post storm recovery of Gustav. And his efforts are being acknowledged across the nation.<br /><br />A Sunday column in the Minneapolis Star Tribune speculated on who Republican political insiders might possibly nominate in 2012 if McCain loses this time. We're talking about President now. The two names at the top of the list? Mitt Romney and Bobby Jindal. According to the column, "Hurricane Gustav, a storm and seemed almost as kind Republicans in 2008 as Katrina was nasty and 2005, may have said another GOP governor's career are rising trajectory. Watch out for Louisiana's Bobby Jindal."<br /><br />A California political consultant, John Pitney, was quoted in papers throughout the country in saying that Gustav enhanced Jindal’s chances of being the Republican presidential candidate in 2016 -- or even 2012 if McCain is not elected. "In either scenario," Pitney said, “Jindal will almost automatically be the front runner."<br /><br />And conservative magazine “Politics and Critical Thinking” is already ballyhooing a Palin-Jindal ticket if McCain is elected and decides not to run for a second term. A quote from the publication stated: "If McCain does not run in 2012, where does that leave Sarah Palin? Obviously running for the Perez, but who would she run with? More than likely Governor Bobby Jindal of Louisiana."<br /><br />But what if the McCain/Palin ticket looses? Would Bobby Jindal in the coming months dare venture out of Louisiana and consider building bridges for a national run in the future? For President of the United States? <br /><br />Well here’s a hint. The Republican candidate for governor in the state of Washington is Dino Rossi. If you are unsure of your geography, Washington is up in the far northwest, halfway across the country. Rossi has his major fund raiser at the Bellevue Hilton Hotel in downtown Seattle next weekend. And guess who the principal speaker will be? Bobby Jindal. Hummmm.<br /> ********<br />"It's probably not a good idea to be chewing on a toothpick if you're talking to the president, because what if he tells a funny joke and you laugh so hard you spit the toothpick out and it hits him in the face or something." <a href="http://www.lovequotescollection.com/quotes/jack_handey.html">Jack Hand</a><br />Peace and Justice.<br /><br />Jim Brown<br /><br />Jim Brown’s column appears weekly, and is published on a number of newspapers and websites throughout Louisiana. You can read past columns by going to Jim’s website at <a href="http://www.jimbrownla.com/">www.jimbrownla.com</a>. Jim’s regular radio show on WRNO, 995fm out of New Orleans can be heard each Sunday from 11:00 am till 1:00 pm.Jimhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12927133938857523885noreply@blogger.com0