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Jul

College Friend Jim Reston Passes!

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My good friend from college days at the University of North Carolina died recently. Jim Rushton wrote 18 books. He was a historian and novelist, and he provided a 96-page “interrogation” memo for David Frost’s TV interviews that prodded Nixon to admit, “I let the American people down” over Watergate. He was a great athlete at Carolina, and still holds the record for scoring the most goals in a soccer match there. We last visited in Linville, North Carolina on his book tour a year ago. During our Carolina days, Jim and I would have dinner each evening at the Phi Delta Theta fraternity house. I wish our conversations had been recorded as we made a gallant effort to solve most of the world’s problems. Jim was 82 years old and died of cancer. I will sure miss my friend of 70 years. To read his full biography, Click Here.

Jan

A BAD WEEK FOR AMERICA!

January 12, 2025JimWeekly Column

Monday, January 13th, 2025

Baton Rouge, Louisiana

A BAD WEEK FOR AMERICA!

A number of current and former public officials took it on the chin this past week. Much of the criticism was justified, but there was overkill in several of the high profile cases. We witnessed continuing political ineptness from coast to coast, as well as an insurance calamity that happened 1000 miles away from Louisiana, but still will have a direct bearing on what policyholders here pay.

First to take place was the trauma in New Orleans. A U.S. Army veteran, who had been radicalized by his views of Islam, zeroed in on New Year’s Eve crowds on Bourbon Street killing 15 revelers at 3:15 in the morning. Could this terrorist attack have been prevented? Many, including this writer, believe so. Few cities in America have a concentration of revelers in one area that draws millions of In a month’s time, a Sugar Bowl, the Super Bowl, and Mardi Gras. If there was ever an area that should been protected with drones, extensive surveillance cameras monitoring 24 hours a day, and street barriers that were supposed to be installed and working in the French Quarter streets, New Orleans was the place. Yet the city and no detailed plan dealing with known threats. There were a few temporary barriers that easily could have been (and were) driven around. City officials from the Mayor on down really dropped the ball.

Next came the devastating California fires. When early warnings of possible major wildfires might spread to Los Angeles, Mayor Karen Bass took immediate action. She flew to Ghana to attend the inauguration of the new president there. She also had slashed $23 million from the Los Angeles Fire Department’s budget just a few months earlier. A petition to recall her for her gross management has already garnered 56,000 signatures. She will spend the next year dealing with investigations and lawsuits over her poor performance operating the city.

The Governor and the California legislature did no better. One hundred fifty million dollars was recently cut from the California wildfire prevention budget. Numerous wildfire prevention proposals made by firefighting experts were ignored. Several major reservoirs needed repairs and had been left empty. It would seem that New Orleans and Los Angeles has a lot in common when it comes to ineptitude.

The insurance claims due to the California destroyed houses will reach well over $100 billion. This will not be just a problem for California property owners. An insurance company needs to “spread the risk,” wherever they are operating. Therefore, what happens in California will directly affect the cost of insurance in the Bayou state. So will the massive flooding that took place in North Carolina. It doesn’t seem fair, but that’s the way insurance works. We will not see any property insurance premium reduction here in Louisiana, at least for the immediate future. Perhaps even more increases.

And how about New York’s former US attorney and mayor Rudy Giuliani? It wasn’t that long ago where he was referred to by just about everyone as “America’s Mayor.” As a lawyer for President Trump, he verbally attacked two Georgia elections workers, charging that they were complacent in Georgia election voter fraud. But then the jury ordered Giuliani to pay these two workers $148 million for defaming them. Maybe Giuliani should pay something, but this seems like a ridiculous amount of money. I wonder how many of you readers would let the former mayor make false accusations against you if you could receive $148 million return? I would.

And finally, there is the criminal case in New York City of President Donald Trump. I’ve written several articles saying how the charges were bogus and never should have been brought. As a lawyer, I see perhaps some misdemeanor under New York law at best. The verdict will certainly be overturned on appeal. But he was convicted as a felon on 34 accounts. The judge sentenced Trump to “unconditional discharge.” What that means is he was sentenced to nothing at all. So the system sticks it to Rudy Giuliani, but let’s Trump just smile at how he was treated. Lady Justice covered up her eyes. There is certainly no equal justice in the American court system today.

One week of ineptitude and questionable decisions throughout America. Coast to coast. Here’s hoping we can put recent days behind us and pray for better weeks to come.

Peace and Justice

Jim Brown

Jim Brown’s syndicated column appears each week in numerous newspapers throughout the nation and on websites worldwide. You can read all his past columns and see continuing updates at http://www.jimbrownla.com.

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College Friend Jim Reston Passes!

A BAD WEEK FOR AMERICA!

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