Jindal Watch

Jindal believes in transparency for everyone but himself

2009-05-11T13:09:00.002-05:00

Lie1.
A false statement deliberately presented as being true; a falsehood.
2. Something meant to deceive or give a wrong impression.
LiarOne that tells lies.

In last year's inaugural address, 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 killed mirror-image bills 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.
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.
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.
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 "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."
Adley is singing a different tune now. The Advocate reports that after the defeat of his bill he said "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.”
It’s good to see Adley on the right side of this issue. It hasn’t always been so. Last year, he opposed a bill 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 exorbitant pay raise last year which Jindal ultimately vetoed, after promising the legislature that he would not.
Read editorial comments in The Times-Picayune and The Times.
Several references at LaNewsLink.

Jindal: The Gathering Storm

2009-04-04T17:03:00.004-05:00

With 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.
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.

Deep Pockets: Jindal’s to donors have access to power – and millions of dollars in state work
Jeremy Alford

Jindal’s ‘Gold Standard’ further tarnished
The Advertiser

Jindal’s Pay-To-Play Plan
C. B. Forgotston

Moon Griffon: Obama cut taxes faster than Jindal

The Reduct Box: Jindal uses state helicopter for fundraiser

Jindal Bombs

2009-02-25T15:59:00.003-06:00

The 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.
Jindal, not a particularly effective speaker in any circumstance, really bombed with his first national appearance.
He and the family are at Disneyland or Disneyworld or somewhere 'winding down'. . . . anywhere but Baton Rouge . . .

Jindal to Respond to Obama Speech

2009-02-12T21:29:00.000-06:00

From We Saw That

Jindal gets major Speaking Engagement

2009-01-23T22:27:00.000-06:00

From Business Report:

Politico magazine says Gov. Bobby Jindal will be the headlining speaker at the National Republican Congressional Committee’s March fundraising dinner.
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."
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.

Jindal not the next Obama

2008-12-28T13:07:00.001-06:00

From The Richmond Times-Dispatch

Is Louisiana Gov. Bobby Jindal the Republican Barack Obama?
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.
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.
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."
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.

Jindal: on the move, on the money

2008-12-11T18:43:00.000-06:00

'Just want to be governor', Jindal says from Virginia

2008-12-10T15:11:00.003-06:00

Louisiana Gov. Bobby Jindal said today he's not interested in a 2012 Republican presidential bid and will seek a second term as governor in 2011.
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.
"No," he replied.
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.
"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.

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.
But run he will.

Mimi says you know you're from Louisiana when

2008-12-06T12:48:00.001-06:00

From Mimi at The Wounded Bird

1. You measure distance in minutes.
2. You've ever had to switch from 'heat' to 'A/C' in the same day.
3. You use 'fix' as a verb. Example: 'I'm fixing to go to the store '
4. All the festivals across the state are named after a fruit, vegetable, grain, insect or animal.
5. You install security lights on your house and garage and leave both unlocked.
6. You know what a 'DAWG' is.
7. You carry jumper cables in your car...for your OWN car.
8. You only own five spices: Tony Chachere, salt, pepper, Tabasco, and ketchup.
9. The local papers cover national and international news on one page but require 6 pages for local gossip and sports.
10. You think that the first day of deer season is a national holiday.
11. You find 100 degrees Fahrenheit 'a little warm'.
12. You know all four seasons: Deer Season, Duck Season, Crawfish Season, Summer.
13. You know whether another LOUISIANIAN is from, north or south, as soon as they start talking (speaking).
14. Going to Wal-mart is a favorite past time known as 'goin Wal-martin'or'off to Wally World'?
15. You describe the first cool snap (below 70 degrees) as good gumbo weather. YEP!
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.)
17. Fried catfish is the other white meat.
18. We don't need no stinking driver's Ed...if our mama says we can drive, we can drive.
19. You understand these jokes and forward them to your friends from LOUISIANA (and those who just wish they were).
Not EVERYONE can be a LOUISIANIAN, it's an art form and a gift from God.
Geaux TIGERS!

Jindal Texas Fundraiser

2008-12-04T16:24:00.002-06:00

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.

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.

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.

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.

Times-Picayune by way of LaNewsLink

Joe the Plumber likes Jindal

2008-11-23T19:01:00.004-06:00

For what it's worth, The Times Picayune reports that Joe the Plumber likes Bobby:

Louisiana Governor Bobby Jindal picked up another admirer recently as his national profile continues to grow amid post-election Republican hand-wringing.
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.
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. . . .
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."

Louisiana moves from 50th to 49th in Economic Competitiveness

2008-11-22T10:47:00.001-06:00

From C. B. Forgotston

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.
LA has moved from 50th place to 49th place in economic competitiveness according to the latest national study.
See the report here
We’re now one notch ahead of Mississippi which dropped from 49th to 50th.
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.

They may ask him, but it won't be today. He's in Iowa talking to the corn . . .

Louisiana has cornfields too

2008-11-12T16:59:00.003-06:00

I wasn't suprised when Bobby Jindal announced that he planned to attend a fundraising event in Iowa later this month.
After all, the election is over and the new one - 2012 - is beginning (these things get longer and longer).
I heard that he said on Tuesday that he "politely declined" the opportunity to be on John McCain's short list for the vice presidency.
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.
I wasn't surprised that his planned visit came two days after Mike Huckabee just happened to be there.
No, what puzzled me was his reason for going. "They’ve got cornfields. I’ve never been to Iowa before."
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.
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.
Then I found the answer, just as I suspected. Talking to the corn has a precedent.
If it worked for him, perhaps it can work for Bobby too.

Video: Jindal 2012?

2008-11-08T12:31:00.003-06:00

Jindal for President?

2008-11-06T21:51:00.003-06:00

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.
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.
Jindal says, of course, that running for president is the furthrest thing from his mind.
Right.
That's why he will be in Iowa later this month for a fundraising appearance.
Reprinted from My Bossier

Louisiana Voters are Irrelevant in presidential election

2008-10-31T16:41:00.000-05:00

Thursday, October 30th, 2008
Baton Rouge, Louisiana
LOUISIANA VOTERS ARE IRRELEVANT
IN PRESIDENTIAL ELECTION
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.
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.
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.
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.
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?
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.
“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.
“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.
“The people are uninformed, and would be misled by a few designing men.” Delegate Johnson, July 19, 1787.
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.
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.
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.
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.
*******
"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."
Peace and Justice
Jim Brown
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 www.jimbrownla.com. 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.

Bobby in Bossier Parish

2008-10-24T15:24:00.003-05:00

The 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.
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.
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.

The Senate Race: Which Democrat do you like better?

2008-10-18T12:06:00.004-05:00

I am so unexcited by the Louisiana Senate race that I haven't posted anything about it yet. Mary Landrieu has 2 terms under her (ample) belt and has built up some deep support throughout the state.

John Kennedy. 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.

On the Race for the Fourth Congressional District
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, Chris Gorman has just released an ad decrying the $700,000,000,000 bailout plan in this video:

This seems to be in contradiction to the wonderful words he had for Jim McCrery:"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."
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.
The race between Gorman and Dr. John Fleming promises to get very nasty.Democrats also face a runoff between Paul Carmouche and Willie Banks, but this one will be milquetoast compared to the Republican race.
There are also two independents on the ballot in December, Gerard Bowen, Jr. and Chester Kelley. 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".

Think about it.

A Visit with Bobby Jindal (for $25,000)

2008-10-09T16:32:00.001-05:00

Thursday, October 9th, 2008
Baton Rouge, Louisiana
A VISIT WITH BOBBY JINDAL
For 25 GRAND
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?
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 http://www.jimbrownla.com/.) 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.
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.
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.
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.
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.
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.
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).
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.
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.
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.
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.
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.
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.
*********
“Democracy means that anyone can grow up to be president, and anyone who doesn’t grow up can be vice president.” Johnny Carson
Peace and Justice
Jim Brown
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 http://www.jimbrownla.com/.
Jim also has a new book out on his views of Louisiana. You can read about it and order it by going to http://www.jimbrownla.com/. .
Jim’s radio show on WRNO (995 fm) from New Orleans can be heard each Sunday, from 11:00 am until 1:00 pm.

Secession?

2008-10-04T13:41:00.002-05:00

Thursday, October 2nd, 2008
Baton Rouge, Louisiana
SHOULD LOUISIANA SECEDE FROM THE UNION?
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.
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.
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.
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.
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.”
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:
“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.”
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.”
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.”
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.
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.
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.
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.
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.
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
*******
“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
Peace and Justice.
Jim Brown
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 http://www.jimbrownla.com/. 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.

Greed

2008-09-26T18:26:00.000-05:00

Thursday, September 25th, 2008
Baton Rouge, Louisiana

GREED IS GOOD IN LOUISIANA

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?
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.

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.

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.

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.

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.

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.

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.

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."

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."

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

*******

“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.”
Gordon Gekko- “Wall Street”

Peace and Justice.
Jim Brown

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 www.jimbrownla.com. 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.

No Bailout!

2008-09-26T07:42:00.002-05:00

Sign the petition here.
H/T to Central La Politics

Jindal could face new problems

2008-09-18T13:39:00.000-05:00

Thursday, September 18th, 2008
Baton Rouge, Louisiana

WHILE NATIONAL STAR SHINES,
JINDAL COULD FACE BIG FINANCIAL PROBLEMS IN LOUISIANA

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.

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.

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.

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.

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.

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.

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.

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.

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.

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.

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.

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.
********
“It's just a job. Grass grows, birds fly, waves pound the sand. I just beat people up.” --Muhammad Ali

Peace and Justice.

Jim Brown
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 www.jimbrownla.com. 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.

Jim Brown: Jindal vs Palin

2008-09-11T12:51:00.000-05:00

Thursday, September 11th, 2008
Baton Rouge, Louisiana

BOBBY JINDAL VS SARAH PALIN
IN 2012?

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?

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.

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.

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.

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?

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.

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.

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.

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."

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."

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."

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?

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.
********
"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." Jack Hand
Peace and Justice.

Jim Brown

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 www.jimbrownla.com. 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.

4th District Congessional race heating up

2008-09-07T19:09:00.002-05:00

Reprinted from My Bossier:
The race for Congress in the Fourth Congressional District remains interesting, if somewhat confusing because of the rescheduling of the September 6th primary. It is tentatively rescheduled for October 4th, with early voting scheduled for September 20th through September 27th. The open election would then be held on November 4th, the same date at the presidential election, with early voting held October 21st through October 27th. If a runoff is needed, it would be held the first Saturday in December.
The candidates are chugging ahead, with the three Republicans, Dr. John Fleming, Chris Gorman and Jeff Thompson, each attempting to establish their credentials as more conservative than the others.
Polling for the Republican Primary indicates that Dr. John Fleming is in the lead. A poll conducted by the Kitchens Group for Paul Carmouche in June showed Fleming with 27%, Gorman at 20% and Thompson 14%. The latest poll conducted at the end of July by Southern Media and Opinion Research for Fleming shows Fleming with 43%, Gorman with 17% and Thompson with 15%.
Two independents are in the race, Gerard Bowen, Jr. (whom I support) and Chester T. Kelley.

Carmouche Looms Large
On the Democratic side, four contenders are active: Paul Carmouche, John Milkovich, Willie Banks, Jr., and Artis Cash. It is being generally presupposed that Carmouche will win the nomination, and I wouldn't disagree with that. Nor would I disagree with the poll which he commissioned which shows that in the general election, he would defeat any of the three Republicans with leads ranging from 13% to 19%.
The Republicans will have a hard time painting Carmouche with liberal colors. I'm sure they will attempt to do so, as this is the usual modus operandi. In this case, it just won't work. He is well known, having served as DA in Caddo Parish for 30 years, and is generally well thought of.
None of the Republican candidates have any experience in public office, and none have the name recognition that Carmouche enjoys. The fourth district is a conservative district, not a Republican district. I suspect that most voters believe that Paul Carmouche has more truly conservative instincts and leanings than any of his Democratic or Republican opponents. Carmouche will not be controlled by the National Party and its leaders. I am not sure that the same could be said for the Republican candidates.
The race belongs to Carmouche at this point.

Evacuees Protest at Shreveport Shelter

2008-09-04T16:14:00.002-05:00

From The Times. If the embedded file doesn't load, watch it here.

For Cynthia and Grandmère Mimi

2008-08-31T17:47:00.004-05:00

This video is for my niece and her family who left their home in Houma for shelter with her mother, for Grandmère Mimi, our wonderful blogger friend, and her husband. Even more, it is a prayer for all of those who had to leave their homes to seek shelter in strange places.

Michael Moore: Gustav is proof there is a God

2008-08-29T19:48:00.003-05:00

I couldn't believe what he said to Keith Olberman. "Gustav is proof there is a God, hitting New Orleans on the first day of the Republican Convention?"
What is he, the left wing Glenn Beck?
First we heard that Gustav was hitting because Southern Decadence, a gay celebration, is this weekend. Now it is to wreak revenge on the Republicans.
The people of New Orleans, and all of South Louisiana, are the victims of a god intent on punishing one political side or the other?
Here's the video.

Jim Brown: The Most Dysfunctional Agency in Louisiana

2008-08-24T11:51:00.001-05:00

It looked like it was going to be a real horse race. Who would win the title of being the most dysfunctional political body in Louisiana? The final choices were whittled down to three. The mayors of both New Orleans and Mandeville made the final cut. But when all was and done, Louisiana Citizens Property Insurance Company won the title of being the most inefficient, corrupt and dysfunctional agency operating in Louisiana state government.
The two mayors in contention, both in the greater New Orleans area, gave it their best shot and made last-minute efforts to show how inept and out of touch both could be. New Orleans Mayor Ray Nagin, who seems to create some major blunder monthly, is back in the daily headlines by trying to justify his way out of a rehab housing scandal that involves his brother-in-law. There is plenty of evidence that private companies billed the city of New Orleans for demolition work that they did not actually performed. Nagin brushed off both the criticism and calls for investigations by saying that those who criticize are “hurting the recovery efforts.”
He may soon be able to express his protests to a Grand Jury.

And there seems to be a new revelation about Mandeville Mayor Eddie Price as the sun rises each day. Price has been alibiing his DWIs and squandering of city funds for months now. And it’s hard to top his logic of misuse. When auditors raise questions about his using a city credit card to cover the cost of a cruise to Mexico and other personal travel, Price simply said that he is on duty 24 hours a day, seven days a week and (I love this part) "takes note of architecture and other things that provide a benefit to the city while he is on vacation." I've been around public life in Louisiana for almost 30 years, and I've never heard one like that.

But as disreputable as the antics of both Mayors were, they could not hold a candle to the continuing dysfunction of Louisiana's state created property insurance company. Last year, the Baton Rouge Business Report referred to Citizens as the single biggest financial disaster in the state’s history. Since those allegations were made, the scenario at the offices of this state run disaster has only gone from bad to worse.

The board of directors of Citizens was scheduled to approve a 41 % increase a few weeks ago, which was, by the way, the third such increase rubberstamped by the Louisiana Insurance Department since Katrina. The problem was that there was no board of directors to give such approval. There are presently eight vacancies on the board out of 15 members, so the company cannot even get a quorum to meet. The parameters for membership are set by the Louisiana legislature.

But several individuals who were approached for membership flatly turned the board appointment down. They pointed to the continuing scandals at Citizens and the staff’s inability to perform even the most basic financial oversight. As one potential member stated; “The Citizen’s mess is just going to get worse. There has been blatant incompetence in running this state company and I want nothing to do with it.”

Just last week, the Louisiana legislative auditor published evidence that Citizens is two years behind in filing financial audits required by law. Every other private insurance company is required by the Louisiana Department insurance to file both quarterly audited financial statements, and full annual audits. Citizens has been allowed to float without filing the required financial information for the past three years. A private insurance company so mismanaged would have been shut down long ago. Unfortunately, Citizens is the only option for thousands of homeowners in South Louisiana. But just as unfortunately, they are buying a pig in a poke with continually rising rates from a troubled company that has massive internal financial problems.

The final coup de grace that assured Citizens of becoming the state's most dysfunctional public body was the public disinterest on the part of the company's management in pursuing past wrongdoing. A federal class-action lawsuit had been filed some months ago alleging racketeering, money laundering and both wire and mail fraud on the part of board members and former executives. The judge in the case indicated that private individuals did not have standing to bring the lawsuit. The obligation would fall on those running the company.

But instead of directing their attorneys to bring legal action against those who have created massive losses in the past, the present chief executive for Citizens dismissed any corrective action simply by saying "we want to put this behind us and do something more productive." Apparently, holding accountable those who allowed major mismanagement and unlawful spending was not something that would be "productive" for Citizens. A company moves on, and the policy holders are the losers.

So after tallying up all the scores, the race was really not that close. For the third year in a row, Citizens Property Insurance Company continues to hold the title of the state’s most dysfunctional publicly run body. And in a place like Louisiana, there is always a lot of competition for such recognition. Way to go guys.

*******

“Once a man holds public office he is absolutely no good for honest work.”
Will Rogers

Peace and Justice.

Jim Brown

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 www.jimbrownla.com. 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.

Giuliani will give Keynote Address at Republican Convention

2008-08-20T12:41:00.006-05:00

Rudy Giuliani has nailed the Keynote address for the Republican Convention. The Republican Convention website has posted a list of speakers for the convention. Governor Jindal will speak before the vice-presidential candidate, whoever that may be.
Looks like he didn't get his second-greatest wish either. . . .

Monday, Sept. 1
U.S. Sen. Joseph Lieberman (Conn.)
Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger (Calif.)
Vice President Richard B. Cheney
First Lady Laura Bush
President George W. Bush

Tuesday, Sept. 2
Former New York City Mayor Rudolph W. Giuliani
Former Gov. Mike Huckabee (Ark.)
Former Gov. Tom Ridge (Pa.)
Gov. Sarah Palin (Alaska)
Gov. Jon Huntsman (Utah)
Rosario Marin, California Secretary of the State and Consumer Services Agency and former Treasurer of the United States
Former U.S. Sen. Fred Thompson (Tenn.)
Gov. Linda Lingle (Hawaii)
Former Lt. Gov. Michael Steele (Md.)

Wednesday, Sept. 3
U.S. Sen. Norm Coleman (Minn.)
Meg Whitman, National Co-Chair for McCain 2008 and former President and CEO of eBay
Carly Fiorina, Victory ‘08 Chairman for the Republican National Committee and former Chairman and CEO of Hewlett-Packard Co.
Former Gov. Mitt Romney (Mass.)
Mrs. Cindy McCain
Gov. Bobby Jindal (La.)
Republican Party’s Vice Presidential Nominee

Thursday, Sept. 4
Gov. Tim Pawlenty (Minn.)
Gov. Charlie Crist (Fla.)
U.S. Sen. Sam Brownback (Kan.)
U.S. Sen. Mel Martinez (Fla.)
John McCain

Jim Brown: DON’T LET POLITICS MESS WITH MY SUMMER VACATION

2008-08-14T08:05:00.001-05:00

Many naysayers have predicted that the family summer vacation, a venerable American tradition for over a century, has now passed away quietly after a lengthy illness. Supposedly, the final coup de grace was the recent rise in gas prices. But I say they protest a bit too much. I've taken a vacation during the month of August as far back as I can remember. Now I know the family dinner hour has gone by the wayside with an onslaught of television, cell phones, and way too many over-booked extracurricular activities. But I'm staying sanguine about the future of American mobility, and I’m back on the open road again.

Jack Kerouac initially took me on our country’s byways through his 1951 Beat classic, "On the Road." He showed us a route through his words that led to discoveries not only of our country by ourselves. He well could have taken his cadence and rhythm from turn-of-the-century poet Walt Whitman’s The Song of the Open Road, in his classic “Leaves of Grass.”

From the sour, freedom!
From this hour I ordain myself loos’d of limits and imaginary lines,
Going were I list, my own master, total and absolute
Listening to others and considering well what they say,
Pausing, searching, receiving, contemplating,
Gently, but with undeniable will, divesting myself of the holds that would hold me.

One important step during my week in the North Carolina Mountains is to take a secular Sabbath and shake free of screens, bells and beeps. Unfortunately, even as I've gotten older, I've developed way too much dependence on laptops, and PDAs that can turn into a modem. But no more. As I started this trip, I looked in the mirror and told the face there that my name is Jim, and I'm a techno-addict. But on this journey, I've committed to unplug and try to be more connected to myself rather than my computer.

And another cardinal rule this week. Absolutely no TV and talk radio. I can get the opening ceremonies of the Olympics on DVD a few weeks from now, and I really don't care about John Edwards’s love child. Radio shows on the east coast have constantly complaining hosts taking calls from a miserable whining public that I can do without.

And quite frankly, as I try to enjoy the mountain breezes, daily hikes, and get myself in better shape, television does little more than feed an endless stream of information about what's wrong with us and what we need to buy to make it right.

There is a constant bombardment of medical solutions including Advair, Aleve and Ambien; Celebrex, Cialis, Claritin and Crestor; Flomax, Lipitor, Valtrex and Viagra to list a handful. Then you are given grave warnings about all the terrible things that could happen to you if you do use one of these products. So if you don't suffer terrible consequences from the disease, the side effects of the drug could make your life really miserable anyway. Living is worse than dying. I'm not taking a vacation to listen to an endless stream of that claptrap.

When the commercial ends, the news comes on to report about all the things our government is warning we should be worried about, and that apparently only they can fix. All with our tax money of course. Terrorists, sexual predators, pesticides, light bulbs, cell phones that cause cancer, cigarettes, fast food, cholesterol, SUVs, asbestos, lead paint and a whole list of other hazards where a government program is needed to correct. Enough already. I'm trying to enjoy my vacation.

So no communication tools. Just a few good books (fiction, nothing serious, good tune outs), some comfortable hiking boots, a little fresh fruit from highway stands along the way, a few bottles of wine from home, and my 20 year old banjo I swear I’m going to learn to play well some day.

I’ll make a deal. You stay abreast of the political radio gossip and TV drivel while I’m gone, and I’ll get back to the task next week of second guessing those who govern us. In the mean time, let me get on with my travels. Or in Whitman’s words: The road is before us.../ Be not detained.

********

“I envy people who can just look at a sunset. I wonder how you can shoot it. There is nothing more grotesque to me than a vacation.”
Dustin Hoffman

Peace and Justice.

Jim Brown

Republican Activist mailed flyers attacking Kip Holden

2008-08-05T17:33:00.005-05:00

Member of Republican State Central Committee mailed out flyers for money
From The Advocate

A self-described Republican activist acknowledged Monday he sent out a political mailer smearing Mayor-President Kip Holden, but refused to say who paid him to do it.
Scott Wilfong said he was paid through his business, Capital Business Services, to send out the mailers that allege the mayor had an affair with a married woman and was beaten up by her husband.
“I didn’t write it, I didn’t print it and I wasn’t responsible for its content. I simply did a job for a client and sent them out,” said Wilfong, whose post office box and postal permit were on the mailings.
Holden has called for a criminal investigation by the FBI and the state Attorney General’s Office into the brochure distributed through the U.S. Postal Service last week.
Wilfong said he doesn’t think any laws were broken, noting that Holden is a public figure.

Video of Wilfong interview

Chris Gorman: Spoof video on YouTube

2008-08-04T21:04:00.005-05:00

Okay, first off - I didn't do it and I don't know who did. This hasn't been a good couple of weeks for Chris Gorman; first, two polls that show Dr. Fleming ahead in the Republican race, and then a poll today that shows Democrat Paul Carmouche blowing all three Republicans out of the water.

If that isn't enough, this shows up on You Tube. My better angels told me not to post it, but they have been so outnumbered for so long . . .

Kip Holden calls for criminal investigation

2008-08-03T08:40:00.003-05:00

Baton Rouge Mayor's race getting uglier

From The Advocate (includes video)

A mailer filled with personal charges against Baton Rouge Mayor-President Kip Holden is causing a storm in the Capital City. Holden says the charges are false, and he says Kurt Sharper, the brother of Metro Council member Byron Sharper, has distributed some of the flyers.

Thanks to The Dead Pelican

Louisiana 04: A message from Independent Gerard Bowen, Jr

2008-07-31T20:57:00.000-05:00

Jim Brown: ARE WE ALL FEDERAL CRIMINALS?

2008-07-30T21:11:00.001-05:00

Thursday, July 31, 2008
Baton Rouge, Louisiana

Louisiana State Senator Derrick Shepherd gets in a tussle with his girlfriend over the weekend and he's hauled off to federal court. Is there any violation of the law that is not considered a federal offense? If anyone actually takes the time to read the U.S. Constitution, there are only three crimes specifically enumerated. Treason, piracy and counterfeiting. So why has Congress undertaken an overzealous expansion of criminal laws?

A report from the Heritage Foundation’s Center for Legal and Judicial Studies recently determined that there are some 4500 federal crimes listed in the US Code. It used to be that Congress would create one particular crime by passing a new law. But in recent years, multiple crimes are listed within the same statute. One new law enacted right after 9/11 contained 60 new crimes. Were they really necessary?

Our representatives in Washington now want to delve into any number of local crimes, flaunting the intention of our country's founders. Drugs, robbery, car theft, the list goes on and on. What happened to the 14th amendment and states rights?

Many of the federal crimes seem to be punitive, arbitrary and bewildering. Harvard law professor William Stuntz puts it this way: "We are coming even closer to living in a country where laws on the books makes everybody a felon, and prosecutors get to decide what the law is and who has violated it."

Did you know that it is a federal crime to deal in the interstate transport of unlicensed dentures? For this you get one year in jail.

How about the fact that you can go to jail for six months if you pretend to be a member of the 4-H club? I'm not making this up.

You can also get six months for degrading the character of Woodsy Owl, or his associated slogan: "Give a hoot -- Don't pollute.”

And you'll love this one. It is a federal crime to disrupt a rodeo. Now in Louisiana, we yield to no one in our desire for orderly rodeos. But a federal crime? Give me a break!

You can see from these examples, it's not a liberal or conservative thing. Many of the laws listed make little sense. In this day and age, the average citizen can get hauled off to jail for trivial things that no sane person would regard as a crime at all. There is a new alliance in Washington. An unholy alliance between anti-big business liberals, and tough-on-crime conservatives. They all seem to be trying to show that they are serious prognosticators cracking down on the social problem of the month, whether it be corporate scandals or steroid use.

The Louisiana legislative delegation is not immune from federalitis, and has joined in the parade of parochialism within the federal system. Senator David Vitter has proposed legislation to make it a felony for the interstate sale of paraphernalia that straps on a rooster’s leg during a cock fight. And Senator Mary Landrieu wants to ban the transportation of horses across state lines to be shipped out of the country for consumption. Can we just imagine the future disruption of our American way of life if their efforts are unsuccessful?

Our members of Congress go to Washington today and seem to be immediately aphrodisized with the power they obtain. Something similar to Tolkien's ring. Often decent and intelligent people who get the ring of power and it changes them. They can't put it down; they can't let it go. The more laws you pass, the better you look back home. And when there's crime involved, you really come across as a tough guy, right?

Many members of Congress seem not to understand the difference between violation of a regulation and a crime. But there are a number of actions that are illegal but not criminal, and if criminal, then do not necessarily have to be federally criminal. Have we reached the point where people in Louisiana and throughout the country have come to accept that any federal agency with power is somehow a police power? Both conservatives and liberals ought to be worried about the expansion of federal criminal law if we value our liberty, which our Founders specifically understood to mean leaving general police powers at the local level.

In 400 B.C., the Greek orator Isocrates stated: "Where there is a multitude of specific laws, it is a sign that the state is badly governed." Tasedus wrote in the 1st century A.D. of Rome: “Formerly we suffered from crimes. Now we suffer from laws."

A little common sense, often not attributed to Washington, would go a long way in allowing Congress to deal with problems of national concern. Leave the parochial to the states. And for goodness sake, let us get a little rowdy at our rodeos.

*******

“Herein is the most dangerous power of the prosecutor;
that he will pick people he thinks he should get,
rather than cases that need to be prosecuted.
With the law books filled with a great assortment
of crimes, a prosecutor stands a fair chance of finding at
least a technical violation of some act on the part of
almost anyone.”

Supreme Court Justice Robert Jackson

Peace and Justice.

Jim Brown

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 http://www.jimbrownla.com/.

Jim’s radio show on WRNO (995 fm) from New Orleans can be heard each Sunday, from 11:00 am until 1:00 pm.

Jindal on the California Earthquake

2008-07-29T21:48:00.005-05:00

The Governor of Louisiana is becoming a regular on Fox News: Today it was discussing the California Earthquake.

Bobby does love the national media, and especially Fox.

Thanks to We Saw That for the video.

The Sorry State of Ethics Enforcement in Louisiana

2008-07-29T21:32:00.004-05:00

New ethics laws argued as 'not the gold standard'
Since Louisiana adopted the nation's first ethics code in 1964, it has been the gold standard used as a model by other states and Congress, says Gray Sexton, who spent 40 years as the director of the Ethics Board.
But the new process pushed by Gov. Bobby Jindal and adopted by the Legislature this year "is not the gold standard," Sexton told the Press Club of Baton Rouge Monday.

Also, he said "ethics" is a misnomer because it really is a "conflict of interest code."

He said the governor and Legislature "basically eviscerated" the ethics board by transferring its powers to a team of administrative law judges appointed by the governor. That move, he said, led to resignations of 10 of 11 members and its administrator.

Read the entire News Star article at the link above

Greg Aymond also has an interview on his website with Gray Sexton.
Listen to Gray speak upon such issues as the weakening of the Ethics Board, the real reasons for the mass resignations of its Board members, the Administration's history and the over 100 exceptions to the ethics code.

GM lays off 800 in Shreveport

2008-07-29T20:23:00.005-05:00

GM officials announced Monday that they were cutting production of 117,000 more pickups and SUVs in a number of ways, including cutting shifts at the Shreveport plant. The move leaves a total of 765 workers at the plant — 675 hourly and 90 salaried. Just last year, the GM plant employed 2,159 people — 1,965 hourly and 194 salaried.

Governor Jindal and Mayor Glover say they are working on getting GM to get back in full production.

Jim Brown: Lege's ignore rising insurance rates

2008-07-23T20:59:00.001-05:00

LOUISIANA LEGISLATURE IGNORES
RISING INSURANCE RATES

Two years ago, Louisiana legislators were demanding rate relief for thousands of homeowners and drivers who were witnessing skyrocketing insurance rates. Cries were heard from the steps of the state Capitol urging the Governor to support subsidies in order to lower the cost of insurance. Lawmakers were calling for an insurance summit to deal with a growing crisis throughout the state. So where are we now? Louisiana continues to lead the country in high insurance rates. And in this past session of the Legislature, lawmakers passed legislation that will raise the cost of insurance across the board even more.

Not only does Louisiana have the highest insurance rates in a broad range of categories, the average citizen also faces a deeper debt than any state in the country. State Bond Commission records show that Louisiana's per capita debt has jumped dramatically. Where the debt per capita in other states average is $700 for each person, Louisiana's per capita debt is approaching $1400, with a jump of over $100 this past year alone.

Just last week, national credit reporting figures were released showing that Louisiana car owners carry more auto debt than any other state. The average Louisiana car owner has an outstanding auto debt a $14,705, up 3% over last year. Nationwide, the average driver has an outstanding auto debt of $12,833. Simply put, the average Louisiana citizen pays more but has less to spend compared to any other state in America.

Affordable homeowners insurance has continued to be a massive headache for states along the Gulf Coast. But while other states have taken aggressive action by funding reinsurance programs and creating catastrophic funds, Louisiana is simply raising rates on homeowners across the state. The state created boondoggle, Citizens Property Insurance Company, raised its rates again just a few weeks ago by an average of 18%. And while Citizens rates increase, the legislature has failed to build in the necessary checks and balances on this public company that has been called the single biggest financial disaster in Louisiana's history.

Because of mismanagement and improper oversight, Louisiana policyholders have been forced to incur debt of some one billion, four hundred million dollars. Not because of Katrina. But because of the failure of both insurance officials and the legislature to ensure that once created, the company was run properly. And despite the scandal of how Citizens has been allowed to operate, the legislature in this past session punted taking no definitive action to bring about substantive oversight.

The legislature did make one major change in the law that will affect homeowners’ rates all over Louisiana. The allowable deductible on your home is being raised from 2% to 5%. So for a property owner who has a home worth $300,000, the deductible under the old law would have been $6,000. Under the new law, homeowners are stuck by having to pay the first $15,000 out of pocket. So instead of taking any remedial action to lower the cost of what a homeowner pays, the legislature’s action will cause the average cost of insuring your property to take a significant leap.

In the area of car insurance, the news is just as bad. For years, Louisiana has always hovered in the list of the top 10 or 15 states in the country when it comes to the basic cost of auto insurance. But it hovers no more. The Bayou state is at the top of the heap. Numero Uno. Number one in the country. For the first six months of 2008, the average car owner in states throughout the country paid an average of $1893 per year to ensure their vehicle. Louisiana led the nation as being the most expensive state to drive a car, with an average premium of $2600.

So what did the Louisiana legislature do about this growing problem? They more than doubled the mandatory required amount to drive on Louisiana highways, which will raise the rates of the average car owner by anywhere from 20 to 30%. Governor Bobby Jindal would not touch this proposal with a 10 foot pole, and let the huge auto insurance increase become law without his signature.

A number of states are aggressively addressing auto insurance costs with some creative approaches. Our neighbors in Texas have joined a number of other states in allowing insurance to be sold based on the amount one drives. The car owner receives a monthly bill just like they do for the use of utilities. The more you drive the more you pay. Some states have seen the average insurance rate drop by as much a 30% when mileage is a factor in what insurance costs. Driving less means savings in both what a driver pays for insurance as well as gasoline. There are a number of other ideas being considered by states across the country. Unfortunately, all Louisiana did was to significantly raise the price the average driver has to pay to be on the highways.

Insurance rates to cover health costs will also rise in Louisiana. The legislature added additional mandates that are required to be included in any health insurance policy. And although such mandates or laudable, the bottom line is that when additional mandates are added, the cost goes up. Governor Bobby Jindal ran on a platform of revamping health care delivery Louisiana. Get a better bang for the buck. So far, this critical issue has not been addressed by the legislature.

This column has written before about the leadership role taken in Florida when it comes to reducing the cost of property insurance. Florida Governor Charlie Crist (who is in the running along with Jindal as a possible running mate on the McCain presidential ticket) was lauded recently by The Wall Street Journal for his innovative reforms in dealing with the high cost of health insurance. Florida is moving towards getting the government out of the healthcare marketplace. Insurance companies are now authorized to sell stripped - down, no - frills policies exempted from the more than 50 mandates that Florida otherwise imposes. Florida citizens can get a health insurance policy for as little as $150 a month.

The bottom line in all these proposals is that Louisiana's does not give its citizens the consumer choices that are available in a number of other states. Laws have been put into place setting specific standards that must be adhered to. The system is much too rigid.

Few suggestions are coming from the insurance department. If the Governor and the legislature do not accept the challenge of allowing its citizens more flexibility and more consumer choices, than Louisiana will continue to be the most expensive state in America to buy insurance. Economic development and creating new jobs? The state will be wasting its efforts until the insurance crisis is addressed.

**********

"Am I the only guy in this country who's fed up with what's happening? Where the hell is our outrage? We should be screaming bloody murder. We've got a gang of clueless bozos steering our ship of state right over a cliff, and we can't even clean up after a hurricane. But instead of getting mad, everyone sits around and nods their heads when the politicians say, 'Stay the course.' Stay the course? You've got to be kidding. This is America not the damned Titanic."
Lee Iacocca

Peace and Justice.

Jim Brown

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 www.jimbrownla.com. 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.

McCain cancels trip to Big Easy

2008-07-23T15:21:00.002-05:00

MCCAIN CANCELS TRIP TO NEW ORLEANS- SAYS JINDAL WON'T BE V.P.

From The Dead Pelican

McCain headed to meet with Jindal; Novak says Veep pick by weekend

2008-07-21T20:03:00.002-05:00

From The Fix
John McCain will huddle with vice presidential aspirant Bobby Jindal during a trip to New Orleans later this week, sources close to the campaign confirm to The Fix.
McCain's trip to Louisiana on Wednesday was the cause of much head scratching in the political world as it was not in keeping with a week of planned stops in battleground states.
At the same time, Bob Novak is reporting that McCain will make his pick for VP by the end of the week.

Louisiana gold standard for ethics is 'fool's gold'

2008-07-20T08:01:00.001-05:00

excerpts from Central La Politics:

The sole remaining member of the Louisiana Ethics Board, Dr. Cedric Lowrey of Alexandria, disagrees with Gov. Jindal's claims as to why there were 10 resignations out of the 11 member board at the end of last month. . . . . .

So I ask you, does Louisiana truly have a "gold standard of ethics" when there are so many exceptions, there is currently no ethics administration, violations will now be determined by an agency controlled by the governor, and it will be more difficult to prove ethics violations?

Read the entire article here

Run, Jennifer, Run

2008-07-18T14:58:00.001-05:00

The Caddo Sheriff's office announced that the Governor will make a stop Tuesday in Vivian in north Caddo Parish.
Jindal will give an update on his ethics legislative session, discuss state surplus spending in northwest Louisiana and work force development. He also will take audience questions. He will be at the Vivian Elementary School.

Now ordinarily, this might seem must a normal political stop, then we remembered that last December in My Bossier we published this about Jennifer Harmon, a blue-haired substitute teacher who was from, where else, Vivian Elementary.

This poor woman was terminated because people were really questioning her piercings, her blue hair and most of all her religious views. Perhaps she was a Wiccan? If you're a Wiccan in Vivian, you're just a satan worshipper flat-out; you'd might as well admit it.

And now the Exorcist himself is visiting Vivian Elementary. Is there more to this trip than meets the eye?

Just wondering.

Jim Brown: We need more of a geek and less of a talker

2008-07-16T20:24:00.001-05:00

JINDAL; WE NEED MORE OF A GEEK
AND LESS OF A TALKER

By his own admission, Senator John McCain is not very computer and internet savvy. Some would argue that for this very reason, he needs to pick a young, hip and contemporary running mate who balances out the McCain image of being old and to some degree out of touch. A number of national pundits are arguing that Louisiana Governor Bobby Jindal fits that profile. But if you look at his communication skills and his web tech profile since being elected governor, Jindal and his staff are not even close to being on the cutting edge of new ways to communicate.

McCain certainly needs some help in the computer literacy department. The Times Picayune editorial cartoon earlier this week had a member of his staff saying: "Okay Senator -- I'm here to teach you all about the computer. Let's try an Apple." McCain’s answer is: "No thanks. I just ate.” Others have joked that when the GOP nominee was handed a new iPhone, he thought it was a TV remote control. He is regularly profiled as functionally illiterate when it comes to the Web.

So how high does the Louisiana Governor rank in being tech savvy? If you take a look at both his campaign and governmental websites, his grade will be mediocre at best. The Jindal for Governor Campaign site is still up and running. But except for press releases out of the Governor's office, it has not been updated in months. Want to send the Governor a campaign contribution or be added to his mailing list? Don't try this website; you will reach a dead end. Nothing happens when you hit the applicable link.

The Governor’s office website offers little more than references to other agencies along with press releases. Quite vanilla as is the case with most Louisiana governmental sites. But with the Jindal administration, expectations were significantly higher. The new governor, only six months in office, has surrounded himself with a bevy of young staffers who are supposed to be web tech savvy. If any newly elected governor in America was going to modernize the state system of communicating, quickly adapt to a new technology and interactive syndication, it was certainly going to be Jindal and his gang. But the results have been mediocre at best.

One of the reasons Bobby Jindal is being considered as a vice presidential candidate is because he is perceived to be capable of bringing a new approach to governing and communicating with the public. Any neutral observer will admit that the Obama campaign has been quite successful by setting a new standard in the use of web technology. Jindal was supposed to have been able to match Obama’s efforts stride for stride. So far, the Jindal team is not even close.

From the beginning of his campaign, Obama overshadowed his Democratic opponents by making much better use of technology and incorporating the latest applications, services, software and widgets. The Obama organization has looked on the web as a way of politically networking, connecting supporters and sharing information in an interactive way. His supporters have been encouraged not to merely receive information from the campaign, but to actively participate in sharing this information like so many people have done on social networking sites like Face book in MySpace.

So far, Jindal has failed to take advantage of modern web related tools which would allow him to communicate with thousands of voters in a virtually unlimited array of ways that would support his gubernatorial agenda. He should have been the first governor in America to transform the whole idea of governance. How simple it would be for him to sit down at a computer with a web cam several times a week and have "online fireside chats" with the people of Louisiana. Television stations would certainly play highlights on the evening news, and the radio talk shows would have fodder to use throughout the day. What a missed opportunity.

Jindal got off to a better start with stronger public support than any governor I have observed in the past 50 years. But for months now, he has missed the chance to mobilize support for his legislative program with just a few keystrokes on the computer. We saw what happened in the pay raise crisis. The political culture in Baton Rouge was simply overwhelmed by the public rising up in arms. With the use of computer technology, Jindal could have and should have rallied his own army of online network based advocates.

The Governor just issued a large number of vetoes from the current legislative session. Here was an excellent chance to get full public input. Jindal could have posted a number of proposed new laws online for five days before he took action, so that Louisiana's citizens could comment and weigh in on their opinion of what action the Governor should take. A blog could have been set up to discuss the purpose of the legislation, and allow the public to participate in a little common sense “give-and-take" as to why the legislation was important to begin with. Then he could have allowed an interactive link so that citizens could give him advice as to how to proceed.

Here’s another practical idea. Besides the "website chats," he could and should set up a simple system where any citizen is able to ask a video question on the Web, and the Governor could respond likewise to a certain number of inquiries each week. Look, he will get in a state plane and fly to Farmerville to speak to 35 Rotarians that will consume five hours of his time. Why not regularly sit down at his desk and handle a range of questions that citizens are posting on the Web, giving him a much better political return for his effort with much less investment of his time.

The lesson in all this seems obvious enough. We have seen, through blogging websites and radio talk shows throughout the state, the results of technology that has concentrated a significant amount of political power in hubs outside of Baton Rouge. Jindal and the Baton Rouge governmental establishment have not harnessed this power from their end.

Bobby Jindal has a unique opportunity to capture the Web as a unifying force to lobby, cajole and communicate his vision for moving Louisiana forward. If he fails to seize the moment that is lying right in front of him, he will be no more effective than John McCain who, when asked about opening a Windows program, supposedly said: Close ‘em. It's too drafty in here."

******

“After growing wildly for years, the field of computing appears to be reaching its infancy. “ ~John Pierce

Peace and Justice

Jim Brown

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 http://www.jimbrownla.com/.

Jim’s radio show on WRNO (995 fm) from New Orleans can be heard each Sunday, from 11:00 am until 1:00 pm.

4th District: Paul Carmouche has more in contributions than Gorman and Fleming combined

2008-07-16T14:40:00.000-05:00

In the race for the 4th District Congressional seat, more money has been contributed to Democrat Paul Carmouche than to Republicans Dr. John Fleming and Chris Gorman combined.
According to Federal Election Commission filings for the first half of the year, Carmouche has contributions of $481,882, compared to $104,058 for Dr. Fleming and $301,350 for Gorman.
Fleming and Gorman have more money on hand, having contributed heavily to their own campaigns, however.
Fleming has kicked in $500,420 of his own money to his campaign, while Gorman shows that he has put in $396,838 of his own money.
Carmouche has put in no personal money.
Willie Banks, Jr (D) shows receipts of $28,907, $10,000 of which is his personal money.
John Milkovich (D) has $49,886 on hand, only $5,236 of it his own money.
Jeff Thompson (R) has yet to file.
If you go by the conventional political wisdom, this is a very good sign for Carmouche.

Style on the Bayou? Details Magazine looks at Jindal

2008-07-15T14:33:00.003-05:00

The August issue of Details magazine is on newsstands now and it features Louisiana governor and possible McCain VP Bobby Jindal. Who exactly is this man? An exorcist? A young, ambitious future leader of the Republican party?

Details takes an in-depth look at Piyush Jindal, better known as Bobby, and one of the leading candidates to gain McCain’s VP nod, examining his rise to office, his young ambitions, his experience with exorcism, his conversion to Catholicism, conflict with his parents, meeting Obama (and teaming up for campaign commercials?!) and more.

Though primarily a magazine devoted to fashion and lifestyle, Details has also featured reports on relevant social and political views.

Read the Article Here

Gerard Bowen, Jr.

2008-07-14T21:41:00.000-05:00

From The Bossier Independent & My Bossier Blog

GERARD BOWEN, JR. FOR CONGRESS
If we keep sending the same type of people to congress we will keep getting the same results.
Gerard Bowen, Jr.

The Bossier Independent is proud to endorse Gerard Bowen, Jr. to fill the 4th Congressional District seat that is being vacated by Jim McCrery.
Bowen is a native of Metairie and relocated his family to the Shreveport area in 2005 after Hurricane Katrina.
He has a BS in Kinesiology/Athletic Training from Washington State University and a Master of Healthcare Administration from Tulane University.
Bowen served in the U.S. Navy from 1989 through 1995. He served in the Persian Gulf War as a Hospital Corpsman assigned to the 2nd Combat Engineer Batallion of the 2nd Marine Division.
He has been married to his wife Mary since 1992. The couple are proud parents of two sons, Trey and Max.
A fair tax advocate, Bowen pledges to work to keep the federal government out of our lives as much as possible. He also promises to be accessible when he’s in office.
I urge you to consider Gerard Bowen, Jr., Independent for Congress when you vote in the general election on November 4th.
You may read his views on the issues on his Website.

Louisiana 4th: Milkovich is Gorman's Worst Nightmare

2008-07-12T10:49:00.000-05:00

The qualifying is done and the race is on for Louisiana’s Fourth District Congressional race. On the Republican side three candidates have qualified: Chris Gorman of Shreveport, Dr. John Fleming of Minden and Jeff Thompson of Bossier City.
The Democrats in the race are John Milkovich, Paul Carmouche, Willie Banks, Jr. and Rev. Arti$ Ca$h.
Two independents have qualified, Chester T. Kelley (website from ’06) and Gerard Bowen, Jr.
This is a complicated race. Chris Gorman seems to have a substantial lead on the Republican side. If a runoff is necessary, my prediction is that it will be between Gorman and Fleming. I just don’t see Thompson making the cut, despite the endorsement from Jim McCrery. Of course, I could be wrong – it may be a Gorman-Thompson runoff.
Paul Carmouche has a lot of name recognition, having served 30 years as Caddo District Attorney. Milkovich also is a well-known local attorney. Ca$h is a pastor and ‘community activist’, whatever that is, and will not draw enough support for a runoff. Mr. Banks does not have the exposure in the populous Shreveport-Bossier City area to gain significant support.
The sure win for the Democrats would be a match-up between John Milkovich and any of the Republicans. The two independents will draw from the Republican base, and if Milkovich, a pro-life evangelical with a lot of support from local fundamentalists, gets the nod on the Democratic side, the Republicans are in real trouble.
Milkovich can pull support from Gorman that Carmouche could not touch. I would predict a Milkovich victory over any of the Republican candidates.
There is still time for the situation to change, and anything can happen. After all, this is Louisiana politics.
With less than two months to go until the primaries, however, I would keep my eye on Milkovich and Gorman.

Gerard Bowen, Jr running as Independent in 4th District

2008-07-11T07:23:00.000-05:00

Gerard John Bowen Jr, candidate for the La. Congressional District 4 race, has decided to run as an Independent.

After careful prayer and consideration and lengthy discussions with my wife, supporters, and potential-supporters, I’ve decided to run in this race as an Independent. There were several factors that led to this decision:

1. Many people I have talked to have said that they were unhappy with the new partyprimary system in place for this year’s congressional race and feel that people should be able to vote for anyone regardless of party affiliation. By running as an Independent, that will allow anyone to vote for me, regardless of party affiliation.

2. Many people, including myself, are disenchanted with the 2-party system in general,and more specifically with the erosion of the conservative values that the Republican Party is supposed to represent.

3. As the only true outsider and the most conservative candidate in the race, I wanted the people to know that I am in this race to be the voice of the people and I’m not willing to tow a party-line just to get elected. I will not go to DC to make friends, I will go to make waves. I will stand for freedoms, smaller government, less spending, lower taxes, and my convictions will not be compromised by any political wheelings and dealings.For more information about me and my candidacy, please see my Official Campaign Website.

From My Bossier

The Nation predicts Jindal Next VP

2008-07-10T19:14:00.000-05:00

Following up on Jim Brown's blog, the article he referenced in The Nation predicts that "There's a good chance he'll be John McCain's vice presidential pick."

excerpt:
It seemed glorious that a Southern state could elect this dark-skinned man, so much so that the news reverberated globally; people in the Jindal family village in India were ecstatic, even though Bobby barely knows them. Such widespread and early popularity--although it took a recent hit over anger at a proposed pay hike for state legislators--indicates that Jindal's base is broad enough to encompass Louisiana's many disparate factions, from racist David Duke backers to liberal Democrats, who seemingly look past Jindal's deeply conservative politics.
…………..
Never heard of Bobby Jindal? Then pay attention. There's a good chance he'll be John McCain's vice presidential pick. Commentators on the right, including Rush Limbaugh, began touting Jindal as vice presidential material just days after the governor's inauguration. Limbaugh sees Jindal as the "next Ronald Reagan," conservative enough to counter McCain's purported liberalism and charismatic enough to win over Democrats. In a May 5 New York Times column, neocon William Kristol described four McCain staffers' excitement about Jindal while extolling Jindal's youth, his "real accomplishments" and his "strong reformist streak."

Jindal Still in VP Race?

2008-07-10T16:00:00.000-05:00

JINDAL POLITICALLY RAISED FROM THE DEAD?
By Jim Brown
Just two weeks ago, the legislative pay raise issue in Louisiana had all but consumed Governor Bobby Jindal. As he continued to tell voters he would not veto the increase that had rallied major statewide opposition, his poll numbers continued to drop. And when he did finally veto the proposal, his delay in doing so seemed to upend any realistic chance of a vice presidential slot on the McCain ticket. But like Lazarus being raised from the dead, low and behold, Jindal is still very much in the VP mix.
There were signs all over the media in the past few days indicating the Jindal is still in the hunt. A profile in this past Sunday’s New York Times Magazine had “America’s anchorman” Rush Limbaugh reaffirming his support of Jindal getting the number two spot. Limbaugh has had Jindal at the top of his list from day one, and apparently the pay raise flap has not caused him to waver.
Former House Speaker Newt Gingrich wrote a lengthy profile this week in Human Events magazine calling Jindal “the most transformational governor in America today,” and strongly re -affirmed his support for Jindal on the McCain ticket. Gingrich could not have been more effusive. “In just six months, Bobby Jindal has accomplished more than most elected officials accomplish in a lifetime.” Pretty strong stuff from one of the GOP’s most respected spokesman. Gingrich did mention the pay raise flap in passing, but dismissively concluded that “Jindal’s correction has cemented his reputation as a principled conservative reformer.”
CNS News concluded this week that Jindal could be a significant help on a McCain ticket in key swing states. A column posted on July 8 states: “Senator John McCain could win in swing state Ohio under almost every scenario if he chooses Louisiana Governor Bobby gentle as his vice presidential candidate.” In the past three presidential elections, Ohio has been the make- or - break state. According to the national CNS poll, Obama currently leads McCain 48% to 46%. But the poll shows McCain would have the upper hand with Jindal as his running mate. By adding the Louisiana governor to his ticket, McCain beats Obama 44% to 39%. Even if Ohio Governor Ted Strickland is added as the running mate to the Obama ticket, a McCain Jindal team still wins by a two-point margin.
CNN televised a panel of political operatives just a few days ago and each was asked to place their bet on McCain’s pick for vice president. Three of the four panelists selected Jindal. And again remember, all these effusive endorsements came after the pay raise flap.
Even liberal publications like The Nation are throwing accolades at Louisiana’s new governor. In the magazine’s current edition, the pay raise controversy was mentioned and dismissed all in the same sentence. The column concluded: “Never heard of Bobby Jindal? Then pay attention. There’s a good chance he’ll be John McCain’s vice presidential pick.”
So why the sustained drumbeat about Jindal, even though he took such a beating, in Louisiana at least, on the pay raise issue? Key McCain advisers are banking on the fact that the controversy is short term, and really has no legs outside of Louisiana. And they are looking for, and quite frankly needs, a number of the attributes that Jindal brings to the table.
McCain desperately needs something to breathe life into his campaign; something that can excite and energize his party. Bobby Jindal, according to key McCain advisers, brings youth and energy to a GOP campaign that, so far, lacks such vitality. For good or bad, he remains as one of the youngest and brightest stars in the republican camp.
McCain is behind in a number of key states and his campaign is looking for a jump start. He needs someone to do more than just balance the ticket. He needs an infusion fresh political air. And Bobby Jindal, despite his recent stumbling and criticism in the past few weeks, could still end up as McCain’s choice for the number two spot.
F. Scott Fitzgerald wrote in The Great Gatsby that “there are no second acts in American lives.” But in politics, too many have proven the quote wrong including Richard Nixon, Ronald Reagan and Bill Clinton to name a few. Even John Kennedy was defeated at the 1956 Democratic convention in his first run for vice president.
Fitzgerald did write something else. “After all, life hasn’t much to offer except youth, and I suppose for older people, the love of youth in others.” When you have a 72 year old candidate at the top of the ticket, a 36 year old who continues to be the darling of the conservative pundits may just find himself on the team. Now what was that about some minor pay raise controversy?
Peace and Justice.
Jim Brown

Jim Brown’s weekly column appears in a number of newspapers 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 http://www.jimbrownla.com.

Jim’s radio program on WRNO (995 fm) from New Orleans starts up again this week, with a Sunday show from 11:00 am till 1:00pm. Other changes will be announced in the weeks to come.

Jesse Jackson Trashes Obama

2008-07-09T19:21:00.000-05:00

Jesse Jackson was caught on tape on Fox, of all places, whispering derogatory remarks about Barack Obama.

Congressman Jesse Jackson, Jr was not a happy camper.

Newt's Just Wild about Bobby

2008-07-09T17:48:00.000-05:00

Newt Gingrich is in love! His latest amour? Bobby Jindal, of course.
Newt gushes "In Six Months, Jindal Has Accomplished More Than Most Do In a Lifetime".
Governor Jindal is leading a revolution of conservative reform in Louisiana. He is the most transformational young governor in America today. The principles that motivate his Louisiana Revolution are the same pro-innovation, pro-competition, anti-bureaucracy and anti- big government principles that I urge each week in this newsletter - the same principles that are so desperately needed in Washington, D.C.

"A New Day Louisiana, a New Day!"
Read the entire article – it’s a great work of fiction.

Jindal: Another Slick one on the legislature

2008-07-09T16:11:00.000-05:00

Louisiana's Governor's office now ranks 50th in transparency due to amendment attached to last minute bill.
Do the legislators ever read these things?

From WDSU

Video: McCain Campaign Has 60 Year Old Woman Removed

2008-07-08T21:16:00.000-05:00

Sixty-year-old Carol Kreck, a former reporter for The Denver Post held a sign that read "McCain=Bush' Monday when police removed her from the atrium of the Denver Performing Arts Complex.
She says she was removed as she asked an officer whether he could deny her free-speech rights by taking away her sign, while McCain supporters wore buttons inside the venue.
Jenny Schiavone, a spokeswoman for the performing arts center, says the venue is city-owned rental property but is not legally defined as private property.
Police spokesman John White say officers acted as they would have for any complaint on private property.
McCain campaign spokesman Tom Kise says the town hall was open to supporters and opponents.

Is Cardboard Bobby in charge?

2008-07-07T07:39:00.000-05:00

Houma Today wonders if the Cardboard Bobby in Walter Boasso's ads is running things today.
Jindal hurt himself by doing what too many politicians do making opportunistic promises he couldn’t keep. First, he told voters during his campaign that he would prohibit lawmakers from giving themselves a pay raise unless it took effect after their next election. Then he promised lawmakers during the session that he wouldn’t veto their pay raise.
He angered both sides by repeating incessantly that he considered the pay raise excessive but would not veto it because he wanted the Legislature to handle its own affairs. Besides, he said, he didn’t want to give lawmakers any reason to scuttle the reforms -- ethics, education, health care and more -- he was pushing through the Legislature.
Yes, the national heat, both in the media and from influential Republicans, likely had just as much to do with Jindal’s epiphany as the pressure from voters back home.
But nothing should diminish the splendid display of democracy put into action by ordinary Louisiana voters and taxpayers who forced their elected officials to right a wrong.

Central La Politics wonders if Jindal should repent?
I wonder if, while making his grand tour of all of the churches and giving his "testimony", Governor Jindal confesses his sins of being a perpetual liar and seeks forgiveness? Repent Bobby, and stop telling lies, and you can be forgiven.

More Here:
GOV. JINDAL STILL SPEAKING WITH FORKED TONGUE BY NOT VETOING BILLS THAT WEAKEN ETHICS LAWS

Independence Day: What were they thinking?

2008-07-04T07:39:00.000-05:00

What were they thinking, those men who expelled the super-power of the day from our shores and established a new form of government?
This is what Independence day should celebrate. Fireworks and parades are great, political speeches on July 4th are a tradition, but not so great. A lot of people celebrate militarism, which to my way of thinking is off the mark.
Here are a few random comments by a handful of the men who established our government.

George Washington:
Let me now take a more comprehensive view, and warn you in the most solemn manner against the baneful effects of the spirit of party, generally. This spirit, unfortunately, is inseparable from our nature, having its root in the strongest passions of the human mind. It exists under different shapes in all governments, more or less stifled, controlled, or repressed; but, in those of the popular form, it is seen in its greatest rankness, and is truly their worst enemy.

John Adams:

In my many years I have come to a conclusion that one useless man is a shame, two is a law firm, and three or more is a congress.

James Madison:

I have no doubt that every new example will succeed, as every past one has done, in showing that religion and Government will both exist in greater purity, the less they are mixed together.

Benjamin Franklin:

All wars are follies, very expensive and very mischievous ones.

Samuel Adams:

If ye love wealth greater than liberty, the tranquility of servitude greater than the animating contest for freedom, go home from us in peace. We seek not your counsel, nor your arms. Crouch down & lick the hand that feeds you; May your chains set lightly upon you, and may posterity forget that ye were our countrymen.

Samuel Adams, James Madison, John Adams & Benjamin Franklin

Vitter Has No Shame

2008-07-03T16:55:00.000-05:00

Senator David Vitter drove home again today the fact that he has no shame. Today he asked the Federal Election Commission whether he can use campaign funds to pay $137,177 in legal fees. He incurred the fees because of his involvement with a high-priced Washington hooker.
The Republican hero of the religious right acknowledged in July 2007 that his phone number appeared on the client list of the woman dubbed “the D.C. Madam.” Deborah Jeane Palfrey was convicted in federal court in April of money laundering, mail fraud and conspiracy.
This comes on top (pardon the expression) of the fact that Vitter joined with his buddy toe-tapping Larry Craig, whose number is probably on bathroom walls in every red state airport, to co-sponsor the marriage defense act.

Other posts on:

Central La Politics

The Wounded Bird

The Reduct Box

Message from Recall Bobby Jindal Website

2008-07-02T19:41:00.001-05:00

Recall Bobby Jindal

“All tyranny needs to gain a foothold is for people of good conscience to remain silent.”

“Honesty is the first chapter in the book of wisdom.”
Thomas Jefferson

Even though this endeavor was all too short, our goal has been met, and with that we wish to withdraw our recall effort, and we have decided against distributing our petition. Our stance against this form of tyranny was to display solidarity with the promise we were given first. Our government has to be reminded from time to time they have to answer to the people, not to themselves.
We wish to thank the supporters of the site, and your willingness to carry this forward. Everyone learns from mistakes, and Governor Jindal admits his position was a mistake. We should allow him the opportunity to redeem himself and we encourage you to get behind and support him.
With that being said there is still the matter of dealing with the legislators who voted for and were most instrumental in this ridiculous salary fiasco to begin with. Remember who voted for and against this bill. It is now left up to you, the people, in your own districts to hold accountable those who say they represent you. Don’t stop the pressure of the recalls in your districts, and start the recalls that haven’t yet been filed. We held those that tried to wrong us and the state to the highest standard, we deserved no less, and now we must make them understand we mean business.
Last but not least a message to you, the legislators, let it be known today and from now on we are watching you and your days of holding a public office will end with a new term limit by recall when you try to wrong the citizens of this state. We would encourage you to work with the Governor on reform! We refuse to continue to sit idly by and let you do as you wish. There is a new time in Louisiana, it is called ‘Reform’ and it is here to stay.

Jindal, The Veto, Newt and The Powers that Be

2008-07-01T14:46:00.001-05:00

Oyster at Your Right Hand Thief had a great piece titled Early on, Jindal traded pay raises for school vouchers. Operating on widespread evidence that Jindal had promised no veto in return for support for his school voucher program for New Orleans, Oyster believes that the quid pro quo was more important than angering the public by tacitly supporting the pay raise. No one anticipated that the public outcry would be what it developed to be. He writes:
So if the media naively thinks that Jindal should simply veto creationist trojan horse legislation, they're two steps behind the game. Why won't Jindal EVER veto creationist legislation?-- that's the interesting question. And the answer is: because, like vouchers, it's more important to the "powers that be" than nearly anything else.
In other words, support for his future political endeavors trumps any local consideration. $5,000,000 in raises to the legislature is peanuts for a future in national politics.
And just at this time, as if to prove the point, our friend Cindy called in to the Sean Hannity radio program with her concerns about Jindal. Hannity agreed with Cindy that the governor was making a mistake, but then went on to praise him and talk about his great future in the Republican Party.

Cindy made a YouTube video of her call and posted it, along with a link to Jindal Watch and our Recall Jindal video, on New Gingrich's website in these forum posts:

By Cynthia Brown @ Sunday, June 29, 2008 11:13 AM
Cindy on the Sean Hannity Radio ShowProtest Rally Monday, July 7th Against LA Gov. Bobby Jindal & LegislatorsBaton Rouge, Louisiana
http://www.youtube.com/user/62747

By Cynthia Brown @ Saturday, June 28, 2008 8:16 PM
A Recall Petition has been filed against Louisiana Gov. Bobby Jindal
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=xi5BFKJxpYA

Cindy reported to us that not just these, but all of her posts had been removed from Newt.com. She emails us today "Now, all of my postings have been taken off of The American Empire, News and Views From Frederickson Washington."
I would look to see more of this as the 'powers that be' do damage control for Jindal.
I think Oyster has it right - it's all about building a national power base for Bobby Jindal, no matter the cost to the people of Louisiana; the flap over the pay raise was just a bump in the road.

CINDY CALLS SEAN HANNITY

Jindal Veto Press Conference Video

2008-06-30T18:20:00.000-05:00

Thanks to We Saw That.

Faced with Recall, Jindal Vetoes Pay Raise Bill

2008-06-30T12:46:00.000-05:00

Faced with public outrage and a recall petition, Jindal announced today that he has vetoed the pay raise.
Gov. Bobby Jindal reversed course Monday and vetoed a bill that would have doubled the base pay of Louisiana legislators.
Jindal announced that he was 'correcting his mistake'.

Breaking story here.

Actually, the people vetoed the raise, Jindal just belatedly put his pen to it.
Hopefully he can learn from this and develop more of a spine in standing up when he needs to.

UPDATE:
The final paragraph of the governor's veto message says:
The Governor concluded his remarks by calling on the public to continue their close involvement in government and the political process. The Governor said, “to all the citizens of Louisiana who have become so vocal on this issue and so involved in the process - stay involved. There is a lot more to do. Don’t tune out or stop paying attention to the political process now. This government belongs to you; it is your business. I’m going to need your help.”

You got it backwards Governor - the people are going to need your help.

Why Louisiana's Anger?

2008-06-29T13:45:00.000-05:00

For those who are not yet aware, a recall petition has been filed against Louisiana Governor Bobby Jindal. The fair-haired boy of the Republican Party, hailed by Rush Limbaugh as ‘the next Ronald Reagan’, mentioned prominently in the national media as a possible running mate for John McCain, has hit the skids after only five months in office.
What could possibly have gone so wrong so soon?
At a time when average wages are down in Louisiana, when gas prices and food prices are soaring, the Louisiana Legislature voted itself a 125% increase in pay, from $16,800 to $37,500 per year. This is in addition to a per diem allowance of $143 per day and $6,000 per year in unvouchered expenses. Inexpensive housing is also available to members of the legislature when in session.
Governor Jindal announced that he will not veto the raise despite a campaign promise last fall that he would ‘prohibit the legislature from increasing their pay before the subsequent election’. He claims that if he opposes them on this issue they will hijack his ‘reform’ agenda.
The raise is scheduled to go into effect on July 1. Jindal said that he made a ‘pledge’ to legislators that he would not veto the increase, despite his promise to the voters.
And people are angry. Jindal’s conservative supporters are up in arms, recall petitions have been filed against 4 legislators, including Speaker of the House Jim Tucker, and on Friday the petition to recall Jindal arrived in the office of the Secretary of State.
Will it garner the more than 900,000 signatures required to force a recall election? Conventional thinking would say no, but we are living in the age of the internet and anything can happen.
The people of Louisiana have been ill-served for a long time, and just when they thought they had a knight in shining armor to save them, they have been betrayed.
Betrayal is a strong word, but it is popping up often these days.
Jindal still has until July 8th to veto the bill. He has said that he will not do it because he gave that pledge to the legislature.
Let’s hope that his promise to the people will trump his pledge to the 72 politicians who voted for this raise.

How About a State Fowl?

2008-06-29T12:42:00.000-05:00

C. B. Forgotston suggests a new State Fowl:

Why the Nation Laughs at Louisiana

2008-06-29T11:26:00.000-05:00

While not taking our eyes away from the Jindal Recall Effort for too long, this was just too good to pass up.

Senator David Vitter (R-Louisiana) and Senator Larry Craig (R-Idaho) have actually co-sponsored the Defense of Marriage act in the Senate. Really. The ho-meister and the toe-tapper have actually taken a (wide?) stance for traditional marriage by co-sponsoring the Defense of Marriage Act.

From the Young Turks YouTube Channel:

New Recall Bobby Jindal Website Up

2008-06-28T05:53:00.001-05:00

http://recallbobby.com/ is up and running. The operator of this website will be working with Ryan Fournier, who filed the recall petition, and will have contact information for coordination and a legal copy of the recall petition that will be downloadable.
We will keep you updated as we get more information.

One of his biggest problems is that prepared speeches and structured interviews are great and have their place, but his failure to truly communicate with the Louisiana media and to hide behind Melissa every time a reporter has a question is now very damaging.
He'd better get real!

From The Advocate:
On Friday Jindal refused three requests for an interview on the recall. Instead his office released a prepared statement: “The voters of our state are angry . . . . . "

blah, blah, blah,
that the Legislature more than doubled their own pay and I agree with them. It was excessive and they should reverse it. Yatta, yatta, yatta, I’m sure more voters will take extraordinary steps to show their anger over the pay raise before this is all said and done — that’s how a democracy works.”
blah, blah, blah blah, blah, blah blah blah . . . . . .

Updated Recall Jindal Video

2008-06-27T20:24:00.001-05:00

Updated Recall Jindal video from The Bossier Independent

Jindal Recall: Papers Filed

2008-06-27T17:06:00.000-05:00

From LaNewsLink:

According to the office of the Secretary of State, the papers were filed by Ryan Fournier of Jefferson Parish.
The governor issued a statement that says ""The voters of our state are angry that the legislature more than doubled their own pay and I agree with them. It was excessive and they should reverse it. I'm sure more voters will take extraordinary steps to show their anger over the pay raise before this is all said and done - that's how a democracy works."

Shreveport Pay Raise Protesters Greet Jindal

2008-06-24T21:03:00.000-05:00

From Central La Politics:

Jindal in LaLa Land

2008-06-24T18:53:00.000-05:00

The governor held a press conference at the mansion today (after greeting protesters in Shreveport) and revealed that he is probably the only person in the state today who is 'proud' of the legislature.

He also reaffirmed that he was 'sorry' the legislature doubled their pay and promised to keep better control of them from now on. Good luck on that one.

Sticking to his talking points as always, the governor said “We had some tremendous victories from this session that involved every single agency in our government pushing the people’s reform agenda. We have a lot more work to do, but our accomplishments from this session are many and they are great steps forward to the New Louisiana we are working toward to become the best place in the world to raise a family, get a quality education and pursue a great career.”

The entire press release from Melissa and Bobby can be viewed at Bayou Buzz.

New York Times: Jindal and the Raise

2008-06-24T07:27:00.000-05:00

The New York Times this morning took note of the furor in Louisiana over the legislative pay raise and of the position that the governor has taken. This sort of attention will very likely tarnish his carefully cultivated image as the Republican conservative Wunderkind.

Excerpt:
The reformist image of Gov. Bobby Jindal, considered by Republicans a top potential vice-presidential choice, has recently taken a beating after Mr. Jindal refused to veto a sizable pay increase that Louisiana legislators voted for themselves this month.
The increase would more than double the salary of the part-time legislators effective July 8, to $37,500 from $16,800, with considerably more money available once expenses are added in. It has touched a nerve in this impoverished state.

Jindal: Does a Pledge trump a Promise?

2008-06-23T16:05:00.000-05:00

Breaking a long precedent for Louisiana governors, Gov. Bobby Jindal will not hold a press conference this evening following the 6 p.m. end of the three-month Legislative session to discuss the accomplishments of his first regular lawmaking period.
Instead, Jindal will meet with the media Tuesday afternoon at the Governor's Mansion, after most legislators have left the capital.
The end of a legislative session normally is an opportunity for a governor to appear with a contingent of lawmakers to review the achievements of new legislation and the state budget.
Jindal held press conferences following the end of each of two special sessions he called in February and April, with he and lawmakers congratulating each another.
Times-Picayune

This means that

1. He will veto and wants to wait until the legislators leave town.
2. He does not want to appear with them because he is afraid that some of the outrage against them will transfer to him. If this is the case he can take a hint: It already has.

If he does veto the bill after giving the legislature a 'pledge' not to, he will have a nest of opposition when the legislature next convenes. On the other hand, he will be keeping a 'promise' to the people that he made while campaigning.
Does a pledge trump a promise?

Is McCain Talking about Obama or Jindal?

2008-06-21T07:18:00.000-05:00

Recall Jindal Website Set Up

2008-06-20T19:02:00.001-05:00

In addition to websites seeking the recall of Jim Tucker, Mike Michot & soon to come Robert Adley, I found a Recall Jindal website today.
Will it go anywhere? Who knows, but it is a reflection of the anger that he is incurring by failing to veto the pay raise.

Pinned Down, Jindal Sticks to 'Talking Points'

2008-06-19T16:56:00.000-05:00

Bayoubuzz Publisher Stephen Sabludowsky asked the governor at a press conference today "to detail the specific 'pledge' he made to the legislature (not to veto the pay raise) and said that the public had a right to know about that deal and that he was not answering the questions.
Unfortunately, I got three three-pointer."

"If you prick us do we not bleed? If you tickle us do we not laugh? If you poison us do we not die? And if you wrong us, shall we not revenge?"
Shakespeare

On the Lighter Side

2008-06-18T08:24:00.000-05:00

The legislature and the governor have pretty much 'mooned' the people of Louisiana. Perhaps we can take solace from a previous governor.

Jindal's Promise and The Truth

2008-06-17T15:12:00.000-05:00

When he was running for governor, Bobby Jindal proposed in a campaign mailer in a section titled "Make the Legislature accountable to the citizens they represent" that he would 'prohibit the legislature from giving themselves raises that take effect before the subsequent election."
The only way a governor can 'prohibit' anything the legislature does is by the veto.
The legislature voted to more than double their pay - and it takes effect next month.

JINDAL BREAKS HIS PROMISE TO THE PEOPLE

Once more, thanks to We Saw That for the video.

Jindal Will Not Veto Pay Raise

2008-06-15T13:09:00.000-05:00

Bobby Jindal says he will not veto the legislative pay raise. ""One thing is for sure, I will not bail them out on this and do their job for them."

Strange. He didn't mind doing their job for them last week when he vetoed Senate Bill 401 by Sen. Bill Cassidy, R-Baton Rouge, which was designed to increase access to organ transplants by the poor by allowing some transplant centers that don't meet Medicare requirements to still receive state reimbursement through Medicaid.

He also did their job for them when he vetoed House Bill 418 by Rep. Mickey Guillory, D-Eunice, which would make an exception to the state law governing "abuse of office" for elected officials who are responding to a request from a constituent "or any citizen of the state of Louisiana.

And again, he did their job for them when he vetoed House Bill 231 by Rep. Jean Doerge, D-Minden, which would have exempted the Firefighters Retirement System from a 2007 law meant to create pressure on public companies to avoid investments in countries that sponsor terrorism, such as Iran, North Korea, Sudan and Syria. The new law requires all public pension systems in Louisiana to take proactive steps to avoid such investments.

Without saying whether or not the bills should stand, the point is that he is being very disingenuous (dishonest?) when he says he will not 'do their job for them'. Using the veto on a bad bill is the governor's perogative. It is his job to veto if he thinks a bill is bad.

Below are two videos, the first of which is the governor stating that he will not veto the bill, along with some cutesy remarks from House Speaker Jim Tucker.

The second video is New Orleans Rep. Austin Badon (of Hannah Montana fame) saying that the people will understand, and that it won't require a vote every year for an increase (therefore, the people will forget).
Badon is dreaming. The people don't understand.
Thanks to We Saw That for the videos.

Bobby and the Devil

2008-06-15T08:31:00.000-05:00

"While Alice and Louise held Susan, her sister continued holding the Bible to her face. Almost taunting the evil spirit that had almost beaten us minutes before, the students dared Susan to read biblical passages."
Sound like something from the Exorcist? Well, almost. This is from "Bobby" Jindal's account of the exorcism of a girl when he was in college. The guv and his friends performed the exorcism themselves. (Priest – we don't need no stinkin' priest!).
That's our governor! Faster than a speeding bullet, more powerful than a locomotive, braver than Michael the Archangel . . . . .
The Bible says that we should fear the power of the darker forces:
Yet Michael the archangel, when contending with the devil he disputed about the body of Moses, durst not bring against him a railing accusation, but said, The Lord rebuke thee.
Maybe it takes a unique perspective, like that of a Hindu turned born-again Catholic. Sounds kind of weird, but it plays well in evangelical churches around Louisiana and gets you a lot of votes. Sort of a mix of Pope Benedict and Benny Hinn. In addition to casting out the demons, they also cured her cancer. Wonder if he hit her on the forehead and she fell back in a dead faint?

Jindal has gotten by with a lot and got the benefit of the doubt from a lot of people when they elected him as governor. Now that he is being 'vetted' as a vice-presidential candidate, all these little things are going to come out.
My favorite comment on this is from Oyster "When Jindal helped exorcise the demon out of his friend Susan, was it cast into the herd of swine in the Louisiana State Legislature?

Just askin'."

Some links on the subject (check Google - there are hundreds)

Time Blog

Election Central

The Wounded Bird

For your viewing pleasure, a video from the Young Turks

Video: Louisiana Legislature Follies of 2008

2008-06-14T18:43:00.001-05:00

Legislative Pay Raise: Why are We Surprised?

2008-06-14T07:27:00.000-05:00

To no one's surprise, the Louisiana Legislature has given itself a big raise. The governor will not veto it because he says that the legislature has bullied him into believing that they will not pass any more of his prized legislation if he does so. "I will not veto this as it is very clear to everyone that the result would be a grinding halt to the tremendous reforms and progress our state is making." To put it in layman's terms "I surrender unconditionally".

Not being able to pass his 'fluff' ethics legislation and other pet projects would really look bad on Bobby as he tours the talk shows and makes appearances at national venues in his quest for national recognition. He must be able to tout all the great things that 'he' has done, but he needs the leges to help him. After all, this is what he is about - not governing Louisiana.

Should he veto the bill? Of course. After all, in his victory speech on election night he said "And some who've been feeding at the trough may not go quietly, but that is up to them. They can either go quietly or they can go loudly, but either way they will go".

The only place they are going is to the bank with those fat raises.

This was the wrong thing to do at the wrong time. People are worried about gas prices, the housing market is in trouble, prices are rising fast (largely due to the price of gas) and people are looking for reassurance from their government. Of course, that is always a mistake, but nonetheless, people do look there for stability. The people in the legislature who voted for the raise apparently are so out of touch that they don't see that their constituents are viewing the raise as greedy and arrogant.

If they really are concerned with compensation, they should vote it in for the next legislature - not for themselves. While campaigning, Jindal said "We cannot allow the good old boy network to run things anymore." Of course, they do and will continue to. Jindal is no match for the seasoned pols who run the legislature. His chosen leaders Tucker and Chaisson and their followers have proven that the governor needs them much more than they need him.

Rush Limbaugh said Jindal is 'the next Reagan'. C. B. Forgotston says that Rush should apologize. "That’s like saying that Peewee Herman is the next John Wayne."

All of this is only shocking if you truly believe that the legislature as a whole has your best interests at heart. It is only shocking if you believe that Jindal really is a reformer and cares more about the people of Louisiana than he does about his own political future.

Am I surprised? Of course not. As I wrote on the night that he was elected:
"No one seems to be able to see past the hoopla to the fact that Louisiana has once more gone hook, line and sinker for a slick packaged, smooth talking 'reformer'."

List of House Votes on Pay Raise Bill

2008-06-13T18:54:00.000-05:00

This is how house members voted on the pay increase:

SPECIAL ORDER
SB 672 BY DUPLESSIS
FINAL PASSAGE
YEAS
Mr. Speaker (Jim Tucker)
Anders
Arnold
Aubert
Badon, A.
Baldone
Barrow
Billiot
Burford
Burns, T.
Burrell
Carmody
Chaney
Connick
Cromer
Dixon
Downs
Edwards
Ellington
Foil
Franklin
Gallot
Gisclair
Greene
Harrison
Henderson
Horrman
Honey
Hutter
Jackson, G
Jackson, M
Jones, R
LaBruzzo
LaFonta
Lambert
Leger
Lopinto
Marchand
McVea
Monica
Morrell
Norton
Nowlin
Peterson
Pugh
Ritchie
Schroder
Smon
Smiley
Smith, G
Smith, P
Templet
White
Williams
Willmot
Wooton
Total--56

NAYS
Abramson
Armes
Badon
Barras
Burns, H
Carter
Champagne
Chandler
Cortez
Danahay
Doerge
Fannin
Geymann
Guillory
Guillory
Guinn
Hardy
Hazel
Henry
Hill
Hine
Howard
Johnson
Jones
Katz
Kleckley
LeBas
Ligi
Little
Lorusso
Mills
Montoucet
Perry
Ponti
Pope
Richard
Richardson
Richmond
Robideaux
Roy
Smith, J
St Germain
Talbot
Trahan
Waddell
Total--45

ABSENT
Dove
Morris
Pearson
Total--3

Louisiana House Votes to Double Pay

2008-06-13T14:53:00.001-05:00

The Louisiana House of Representative voted to increase their pay more than double today. The original bill would have called for an increase from $16,000 to $50,000. The house 'compromised' and only voted the raise to $37,500. The governor has said that he will not veto the bill. The legislators are also paid (currently) a $143 per diem when they are in session in addition to the base pay.

List of Senate Votes on Pay Raise Bill

2008-06-11T13:04:00.000-05:00

The Senators who voted 'yea' to increase their base pay from $16,000 to over $50,000 per year believe that you will forget about this vote by the time they run for re-election.
When they are speaking in your area and stressing their great 'conservative' credentials, call them down on it.

SB 672 BY DUPLESSIS

LEGISLATORS

EG +$5,829,043 GF EX

FINAL PASSAGE

YEAS

Mr. President (Joel Chaisson)
Adley

Broome
Crowe
Dorsey
Duplessis
Dupre
Erdey
Gautreaux
Gray
Jackson
Kostelka
LaFleur
Martiny
Marionneaux

Michot

Murray

Nevers

Shepherd

Thompson

Total--20

NAYS

Alario
Amedee
Cassidy
Cheek

Cravins
Donahue
Gautreaux
Hebert
Heitmeier
McPherson
Morrish
Mount
Quinn

Riser

Shaw

Walsworth

Total--16

ABSENT

Long
Smith

Total--2

Louisiana Senate Votes Unconscionable Pay Raise

2008-06-11T08:02:00.000-05:00

Senators (including my own Senator Robert Adley) took less than five minutes Tuesday to pass a pay raise for themselves and House members pegged at 30 percent of the pay of members of the U.S. Congress.
With no votes to spare, the Senate approved, 20-16, Senate Bill 672 by Sen. Ann Duplessis, D-New Orleans, sending it to the House for debate. House members cheered passage of the bill while watching the Senate proceedings on their desktop television monitors.
Duplessis told reporters after the vote that Gov. Bobby Jindal will not veto the measure, although he may allow her bill to become law without his signature. "He takes a position of no position and has agreed not to veto it," Duplessis said. "At a lunch today (Tuesday) he said he will not veto it. Those are the words from his mouth."
"I strongly disagree with this pay increase," Jindal said through spokeswoman Melissa Sellers. "They are a separate branch of government and must manage their own internal affairs." Sellers did not say whether Jindal would veto the bill if it passes. It would go into effect July 1 if passed.
Times-Picayune

A Musical Ode to the State Senate & State House of Representatives

Louisiana Conservative Blogger named to Republican State Central Committee

2008-06-08T16:26:00.000-05:00

Deryl Bryant, known in the blogosphere as '4unionparish' has been appointed to an empty slot on the Republican State Central Committee. He reports on Louisiana Conservative today that John Kennedy spoke to the group on Saturday.

"John Kennedy is a TRUE CONSERVATIVE with TRADITIONAL VALUES. . . .

Mary Landrieu’s political views are EXACTLY the OPPOSITE."

He continues "The Landrieu “machine” is going to benefit greatly from the Barrack Hussein Obama Presidential campaign."

Barack Hussein Obama. Really, he wrote that. (Just don't dare call his man "Bobby" Jindal by his proper name - Piyush.)

He goes on "I believe we can expect a regular assault by Obama and Landrieu as they both seek political offices that neither is competent to hold, nor deserve to have."

Hate to tell you, Deryl - if they are elected to the office they deserve to hold it. Some may think that you are not competent nor deserve to have a seat on the Republican State Central Committee - but there you are!

Deryl ended his post with the following, and I completely agree:

"I gratefully accepted and I am now a member of the State Central Committee for the Republican Party of Louisiana.
May God protect us all."

Pay Legislators Minimum Wage

2008-06-08T07:46:00.000-05:00

The Louisiana Republican Party went on record Saturday opposing any increase in state legislators’ pay during their current term of office.
The party’s governing body voted in favor of a resolution by member Mike Bayham of St. Bernard Parish. There were a handful of dissenters.
“We should just be like the (U.S.) Congress where it doesn’t take effect until the next election where voters could determine that legislators merit it or not,” Bayham said.
Bayham said he did not think it right for today’s legislators to vote themselves a pay raise when some are newcomers with less than six months in office and other term-limited legislators would be getting “a money grab” that boosts their pay in their final years in office.
The Louisiana Legislature is considering a bill by state Sen. Ann Duplessis, D-New Orleans, that would tie state legislators’ pay to a percentage of that of members of the U.S. Congress. The annual base pay of a legislator would increase from $16,800 to $50,700.
The Advocate

A part-time job that pays Fifty Grand a year? Sounds good to me. My suggestion to the legislature would be that since they are there to serve the people (I'm sure that each and every one of them has made this statement at some point), then they should be in step with the people they serve.
Their best argument for an obscene pay raise is that if they don't increase the money, then it will be difficult to get quality people to run for office.
New Flash: quality people don't run for office for the financial rewards, but to truly serve. Legislators currently get a base of over $16,000 per year. Perhaps if we set their pay at the minimum wage level, or better yet pay nothing but traveling expense and lodging then we would get people who truly do want to serve.
How about convening the legislature only every other year as Texas does? This would surely cut down on their financial hardships, and would certainly cut down on the hardships they inflict on the people they 'serve'. Of course, in the case of an emergency the governor could call them into session.
$50,000 + expenses - No!

Thou Shalt Not Lie (Unless it's for the Republican Party)

2008-06-06T18:18:00.000-05:00

I'm getting emails from 'Christian' friends attacking Barack Obama. Now if you disagree with his political stands, that's fine. Get a blog, comment on blogs and articles where possible and talk to anyone who will listen to your differences. If you don't like the fact that a black man is running for president and you feel culturally threatened, then out with it. You have a right to your opinions. If you believe that he is a Muslim and you are angry at his Church of Christ pastor, then say so.
This post isn't an endorsement of Barack Obama. It is, however, an endorsement of intelligent and truthful discourse. It astounds me that in every election, year in and year out, and on every 'hot-button' issue, 'Christian Right' Republicans, who are oftentimes neither Christian nor right, send out dozens of untruthful, outrageous emails about the candidate or position they oppose.
I received two of these today. The first one states:
The last quotation is the one that is really scary!
(Last quotation) From Audacity of Hope: "I will stand with the Muslims should the political winds shift in an ugly direction.
"If you ever forwarded an e-mail, now is the time to do it again.

This is the quote directly from the book and in context:
"Of course, not all my conversations in immigrant communities follow this easy pattern. In the wake of 9/11, my meetings with Arab and Pakistani Americans, for example, have a more urgent quality, for the stories of detentions and FBI questioning and hard stares from neighbors have shaken their sense of security and belonging. They have been reminded that the history of immigration in this country has a dark underbelly; they need specific reassurances that their citizenship really means something, that America has learned the right lessons from the Japanese internments during World War II, and that I will stand with them should the political winds shift in an ugly direction."

The other email had this Obama 'quote':
'As I've said about the flag pin, I don't want to be perceived as taking sides,' Obama said. 'There are a lot of people in the world to whom the American flag is a symbol of oppression. And the anthem itself conveys a war-like message. You know, the bombs bursting in air and all. It should be swapped for something less parochial and less bellicose. I like the song'I'd Like to Teach the World to Sing.' If that were our anthem, then I might salute it.
The quote was one conservative writer's idea of a joke, which has been picked up and repeated as though it were true in a chain e-mail.
This is a ridiculous example of how false stories are started, spread and, in many cases, believed. It began with a column dated Oct. 27, 2007, on a Web site called the Arizona Conservative, which is written by John Semmens and clearly labeled as humor. His column, in fact, is called "Semi-News -- A Satirical Look at Recent News."Nevertheless, his column on Obama has been copied and sent around in e-mails, masquerading as true stories.
Thanks to Snopes.com for tracking down the source of this latest e-mail falsehood.

So to all those good 'Christians' who enjoy spreading falsehoods, you should contact your old bud Judge Moore in Alabama and get him to actually read those ten commandments to you.
They are, after all, more than just a block of stone to fight over.

Jindal Off VP List - Or Not

2008-06-04T15:31:00.000-05:00

In answer to a direct question about the possibility of Jindal being his running mate, McCain said "I believe Gov. Jindal is the next generation of leadership, not just of the Republican Party but of America.
"What he's been able to accomplish in his 36 years on earth is remarkable," McCain said. But he quickly added "Gov. Jindal has a full schedule on a full agenda here."
The Times believes that this means Jindal is out of consideration. I'm not so sure. This could also be a ploy to throw off speculation which McCain doesn't want at this time.
If Barack Obama picks Hillary Clinton to be his running mate, then Jindal's appeal seems to increase.
What better foil than a VP candidate who is young, non-white and who appeals to the 'conservative' base of the party?
Obama may not pick Hillary. Anything could happen in the next month or two to change the dynamic, but just remember - it ain't over until it's over.

NY Times calls Jindal New (true) Champion of the Right

2008-06-02T18:16:00.000-05:00

In an article today, The New York Times says that "Religion and fiscal stringency have a friendly home at the state Capitol here, with a conservative, Bobby Jindal, in the governor’s office, a host of straight-arrow novice legislators eager to please him and an honored spot for the Louisiana Family Forum in the old marble halls. . .

On the floor of the House this year, several legislators have invoked the position of the Louisiana Family Forum, a faith-oriented, anti-abortion group that is affiliated with conservatives like James C. Dobson of Focus on the Family and Tony Perkins, who helped found it. Its executive director, the Rev. Gene Mills, has become a frequent presence in the legislative halls. At the group’s modest offices here, Mr. Jindal is seen as practically one of the family. ."

Rev. Gene Mills (executive director of Louisiana Family Forum) says he counts several “close personal friends” on Mr. Jindal’s team of young activists and has known the family of the governor’s chief of staff, Timmy Teepell, for “years and years.” Mr. Teepell, a former deputy political director at the RNC whose family has been active in the home-school movement in Baton Rouge, has emerged as Mr. Jindal’s point man at the Louisiana Capitol, forcefully advocating for the voucher program, for one.
The governor’s secretary of labor, Tim Barfield, was a founding member of the Louisiana Family Forum and, Mr. Mills said, is a “squeaky-clean young man.”

And here is the clincher: "Mr. Jindal’s spokeswoman did not respond to messages on Friday."
They must have thought that it was the Shreveport Times. They never refuse to talk to national media, only Louisiana media.

Democrats about to Snatch Defeat from the Jaws of Victory

2008-05-31T12:02:00.000-05:00

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

2008-05-30T14:44:00.000-05:00

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

2008-05-29T16:36:00.000-05:00

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

2008-05-28T06:55:00.000-05:00

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

2008-05-26T11:24:00.000-05:00

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?

2008-05-25T12:31:00.000-05:00

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

2008-05-21T15:54:00.000-05:00

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

2008-05-19T18:29:00.000-05:00

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

2008-05-17T12:50:00.000-05:00

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