It’s all Trump, and millions of Americans are cheering him on. But has Trump changed America or has America experienced changes that Trump bought into? That’s my big question in this week’s column. America has changed dramatically. Exactly what role did Donald Trump having these changes? I write about what’s happening throughout America in this...Read More

Monday November 18th, 2024 Baton Rouge, Louisiana IS TRUMP AN ABERRATION OR IS AMERICA CHANGING? Listen.  Put your hand to your ear. Can you here it?  (Silence). That’s the sound of the Trumpites hollering about all the election fraud.  Oh, that’s alright.  You see, the Republicans won. There’s only election fraud when Trump and Republicans loose....Read More

OK, the election is over, so let’s get back to leading our lives. It’s a Life we can live with freedom. And that’s because of all the veterans who served this country to be sure we had these freedoms. November 11th is Veterans Day. It’s a time to reflect and honor those who did serve...Read More

Monday, November 11th, 2021 Baton Rouge, Louisiana WE NEED TO DO MORE TO SERVE OUR COUNTRY! This week marks an important day to remember for all of Americans. Many of us don’t even know the difference between Memorial Day (honoring those who died defending our country) and Veterans Day (honoring all service men and women)....Read More

Monday, November 4th, 2024 Baton Rouge, Louisiana THINKING PAST ELECTION DAY! As you read this, it’s a matter of hours before voting in the presidential election is over. That’s not to say that a final verdict will be determined. As we saw four years ago, if the election is close as every analysis indicates that...Read More

If you are like me, you’ll be glad all the politicking is over and we will determine who the next president of the country will be. Let’s hope it won’t last in making a decision for weeks since the election is so close.  I have some final thoughts to share with you as we move...Read More

We are winding down to our major presidential election. Are you ready to project the winner? I have looked at both candidates, and included that possibly neither one of them can win. I know that’s strange, but you might find my reasoning. Interesting. It’s all set out in my new column. You can read it...Read More

Monday, October 28th, 2024 Baton Rouge, Louisiana SO THE WINNER IN THE PRESIDENTIAL ELECTION IS? My favorite comic strip is called “Pearls before Swine.” I read it in my local newspaper every day. It’s wisdom shared by animal characters.  One  asks: “I’m trying to decide who I should vote for to become the leader of...Read More

A big celebration for Italian-Americans last week. It was, of course a Columbus Day  celebration. What? You’re saying oh no, it was  Indigenous Peoples Day, right?  I say wrong, and you’ll be surprised how this whole controversy originated. I suggest that Columbus was only a minor footnote in picking the special day to honor Italian-Americans....Read More

Monday, October 21st, 2024 Baton Rouge, Louisiana POOR COLUMBUS.  HE WAS JUST A FOOTNOTE! Did you celebrate Columbus Day last week? ( Ooops,  it’s now Indigenous Peoples Day.) That’s right. We changed the name, and now celebrate those Indian tribes Columbus encountered on his discovery of the Americas, a number of which were cannibals. So...Read More

Insurance rates continue to go up and policyholders continue to complain. And rightly so.  It used to be a problem along the Gulf Coast. But not anymore. The whole country is complaining about high insurance rates. Why is this? I’ll take a look at this sore subject in my new column. You could read it...Read More

LSU, located in my hometown of Baton Rouge, what a big victory Saturday night over the Ole Miss rebels. Ole Miss was favored, but blew some great opportunities to score. LSU snuck up on them at the end and won the the game. Good for them. But look at what took place by fans who...Read More

Monday, October 14th, 2024 Baton Rouge, Louisiana DON’T COUNT ON LOWER INSURANCE RATES IN LOUISIANA! Louisiana legislators are ringing their hands over the increasing cost of property insurance. “How are we going to bring Insurance premiums down? What to do, what to do?”  Will enforcing stronger building codes work? How about giving grants for people...Read More

We know a lot about flooding down here in Louisiana. The storms come regularly. But in my second home up in the North Carolina mountains, they rarely have weather problems. May be too much snow in the winter. But it all changed this summer. The ground was wet to begin with. Then it rained, and...Read More

My longtime friend Jim Engster received the 2024 Founders Award given annually by public radio in Baton Rouge. Jim has been on the air doing a public affairs show as long as I can remember. He is one of the most knowledgeable person people about Louisiana politics in the state.  A well-deserved honor for Jim.Read More

Monday,  October 7th, 2024 Linville, North Carolina LOUISIANA CAN RELATE TO DISASTER IN THE MOUNTAINS!  “Drive Faster. The Mountains are close by”. That’s a bumper sticker I’ve seen on a number of cars throughout western North Carolina. Yes, living in the mountains is special. A lot of people are beach groupies or mountain devotees.  I’d...Read More

Pete Rose, certainly one of the greatest baseball players that ever played the game for the Cincinnati Reds, died on Monday. He tried for years to clear his name from gambling on baseball games, but never could. This kept him out of the baseball Hall of Fame. I visited with Pete at length on several...Read More

  Monday, September 30th, 2024 Baton Rouge, Louisiana EDWIN EDWARDS FOR PRESIDENT? Some of you older readers may recall the name of South Korean lobbyist Tongsun Park, a flamboyant international lobbyist who died this past week. Back in the 1970s, he was intricately involved in the politics of Louisiana. Then Governor Edwin Edwards was able...Read More

Did you know that Louisiana Governor Edward Edwards seriously considered running for president?  Yep, I have personal knowledge of his thoughts on why he considered such a raise, and what changed his mind not to run. I take you back to 1978, and it’s a fascinating story. You can read all about it in my...Read More

Goodness gracious! What the heck is going on in this country? Former President Donald Trump says illegals are eating our dogs and cats. What? My dog and cat are under attack? What else can they be eating? Donald Duck? Mickey Mouse? Bambi? Mr. Ed? The list goes on and on. I write about this massive...Read More

September 26th-St. LaRose political group-Noon October 2nd-Denham Springs Book Club-noon October 3rd-Baton Rouge Lions Club-noonRead More

    September 23rd, 2024 Baton Rouge, Louisiana TRUMP SAYS LOCK UP YOUR DOGS AND CATS! It’s a national scandal and a call to arms. Our country is under attack by dog and cat eaters. So says our former president. That’s right.  Donald Trump is saying that in some communities, immigrants are prowling neighborhoods stealing...Read More

The election for president is close at hand, and there continues to be numerous allegations of past and future voter fraud. Is there any truth to such charges? I know something about the elections process, as I was Louisiana’s chief elections officer for eight years. So I give you my evaluation as to what truth...Read More

Monday, September 16th, 2024 Baton Rouge, Louisiana IS ELECTION FRAUD RAMPENT  ACROSS THE NATION? It’s a matter of weeks before the presidential election, and critics are hollering that  the country is experiencing election fraud, both in states across the country as well as an infiltration by unfriendly nations in other parts of the world. Is...Read More

Several major state comparisons were released this past week ranking states across the nation from best to worst. Do you want to guess where Louisiana ended up? Dead last on both of the lists. How can that be you say. Best food and best music in the nation, and a host of appealing sites to...Read More

Thursday-September 12th-noon-CCL Book Club-at Country club of Louisiana in Baton Rouge. Monday – September 16th-7:00 PM – Jubilee Pioneers-Serop’s restaurant in Baton Rouge on Corporate BoulevardRead More

September 9th, 2024 Linville, North Carolina TIME FOR LOUISIANA TO PUT UP OR SHUT UP!  It’s been a standing joke for a number of years. No matter how bad things get in Louisiana, the state could say at least it’s not Mississippi. Well not anymore. A new national study by Wallethub.com has just been released...Read More

Now wait a minute. Why on earth am I wishing everyone a Happy New Year. That’s all, fall is just arriving. Well, let me tell you something. For me, the fall brings on a whole new year.  I’ll bet you’ll agree with me once you read my new column. I give a number of reasons...Read More

Monday, September 2nd, 2024 Baton Rouge, Louisiana HAPPY NEW YEAR-IT’S FALL!  OK, Ok, I know it’s just early September.  But to me, autumn is in the air.  Sure it’s still hot in the deep South.  But there is a tinge of lower temperatures, leaves are slightly turning and we are witnessing a finality of harvest. ...Read More

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We apparently have a bunch of “weird” politicians running for national office this fall. Both Democrats and Republicans are painting the other party with the name tag “weird.” Where did all this start? Who is the weirdest of them all? I write about our “weird” politicians, both nationally and in Louisiana, in my new column...Read More

The “Jesus, Jews, Jihad and Me” Book  tour is taking place all over Louisiana. Jim has been on a host of Louisiana radio stations, talking about the book, and Billboard in the Baton Rouge and New Orleans area. Take a look at the typical billboard that you’ll see driving across the state.  You could also...Read More

  Monday, August 26th, 2025 Baton Rouge, Louisiana POLITICIANS WHO ARE A BIT WEIRD! Do you think that our candidates for national office are weird? That word — “weird” — has become the new attack buzz word for both Democrats and Republicans. So how did all these “weird” attacks” begin? Democratic Vice Presidential candidate Tim Walz...Read More

Well, there’s some good news coming out of Washington DC. It looks like the Supreme Court, at least one member, is waking up to the fact that we’ve got way too many federal and state laws on the books. Supreme Court Justice Justice Neil Gorsuch has has come to this conclusion in his new book...Read More

Monday, August 19th, 2024 Baton Rouge, Louisiana ARE WE ALL FEDERAL CRIMINALS IN LOUISIANA? US Justice Neil Gorsuch has written a new book called “Over Ruled.”  The premise is simple. There are just way too many federal and state laws on the books.  He concludes that there are numerous average citizens that are slapped down...Read More

  JESUS, JEWS,JIHAD AND ME!  My Jerusalem Journey (And Then the Missiles Came!) ISBN 979-8-218-35707-8 Jim Brown’s NEW Book Jim Brown had this premonition.  As he turned 84 years old, he felt it was time to explore his faith and spirituality. He certainly has lived a full life. In fact, one of Louisiana’s newspapers editorialized...Read More

We are getting close to the national election and so what can we expect? Distorted charges out right lies? This always seems to happen you’re in national  elections. This time around, both candidates for  vice president are being swift boated. I had the same thing happen to me. If you’re not sure what it is,...Read More

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Monday, August 11th, 2024 Baton Rouge, Louisiana SERVE YOUR COUNTRY-THEN GET SWIFTBOATED?  Well here they go again.  Political extremists who work behind the scenes in both national political parties have dusted off their old playbook by attacking the military record of both vice presidential candidates. Such attacks even have a name. It’s called swift boating....Read More

Well, it’s about college football time.  Are you fired up and ready? I sure have been in the past. After all, our state school in Louisiana has won several national championships just in the past few years. But it’s completely different now. A bunch of hired guns has moved in from who knows where to...Read More

Monday, August 5th, 2024 Baton Rouge, Louisiana DOES ANYONE REALLY CARE ABOUT COLLEGE FOOTBALL ANYMORE?  Football for the college ranks is a matter of a few weeks away.  Are you fired up?   Can you hardly wait?  (Yawn….).   So what will we soon have?  A bunch of kids who are hired guns who come from other...Read More

So we now have the two major party candidates that are ready to debate and talk about issues affecting the future of this country – right? So, so wrong. All Donald Trump and Kamala Harris are doing is attacking each other. And it looks like this is going to be the, focus of the campaign...Read More

A huge controversy is taking place in Paris at the Olympic Games. At the opening ceremony, there was a profile put together of the last supper that many people, including myself, think made a mockery of this depiction. The latest illustration can be found in the absurd and offensive opening ceremony for the Paris Olympics,...Read More

Monday, July 29th, 2024 Baton Rouge,, Louisiana BOTH POLITICAL PARTIES POSE DANGERS!  When I was at a young age and growing up in the Midwest, President Harry Truman led the nation out of war.  Then came General Dwight Eisenhower, who confected a plan for reconstruction throughout Europe and Asia. They both led a group of...Read More

Well, it was quite a week for the Republicans at their convention in Milwaukee. No real decisions to make as Donald Trump was the obvious nominee. But it was arousing gathering. Next to the Democrats. Will they stay united? Will the President run for reelection? Will some bright candidate emerge that can beat Trump? So...Read More

Monday, July 22nd, 2024 Baton Rouge,, Louisiana NO POLITICAL CONVENTIONS IN LOUISIANA! The Republicans just finished a rousing convention in, of all places, Milwaukee. About the only thing of interest the delegates might want to visit are a number of breweries and the Harley Davidson Museum.  But the state of Wisconsin is a key battleground...Read More

Affordable insurance, and not finding any, continues to be a major problem here in the Bayou state. A Louisiana legislative committee met last week to see what new laws could be passed to help the critical situation. Hey legislators! We don’t need any new laws. What we need is aggressive enforcement of the laws on...Read More

Monday, July 15th, 2024 Baton Rouge, Louisiana  HOW TO LOWER AUTO INSURANCE COSTS IN LOUISIANA!  Louisiana legislators met last week to find legal solutions that will lower the cost of automobile bill insurance throughout the state. Hey, all you guy and gal lawmakers. There are no new laws that will make any difference. If you...Read More