Just after Familiar Evil, by Louisiana author Rannah Gray, won the Gold Medal at the 20th Annual Independent Publishers Awards in Chicago, it was announced that the National Indie Excellence Awards has named Familiar Evil the BEST NEW NON-FICTION AND BEST TRUE CRIME BOOK FOR 2016. Familiar Evil was also featured in the New Title...Read More

I have always regretted not learning to fly. I had ample opportunity, but always seem to be too busy. I did learn how to land an airplane, because, when I was in public life, I was in private planes every week. So I learned enough to set the plane down, but little more. I love...Read More

It’s graduation time of year, with kids at many levels are attending graduation ceremonies. Do you remember who spoke at your graduation? Most readers do not. I decided, this week, to set out some advice to these new graduates who are hoping to lead a successful life. My thoughts are pretty simple. Take a look...Read More

Our “Common Sense” weekend radio program is fast approaching, and we have a lively show planned for our listeners across the nation. Colonel Tony Deane has written an intense first person account of the pivotal battle of the Iraq War, the Battle of Ramadi. His book tells quite a story and is available by Clicking...Read More

Friday, May 27Th, 2016 Baton Rouge, Louisiana TO GRADUATES “” THE WORLD ACCORDING TO ME!  Kids all over America graduated last week from kindergarten, grade school, high school, college and graduate schools. And there was always a commencement speaker. Most of you will never give a commencement address. But as a public official, I was called...Read More

The battle over the “bathroom law” in North Carolina has reached fever pitch over the past few weeks.  The law aims to ban transgender folks from using the bathroom of the gender they identify with, but the state has gotten some major pushback from the Federal government and popular figures. Well, country music superstar Brad Paisley...Read More

My longtime friend and political colleague in Louisiana Bobby Freeman passed away this week. He was a young 82, but died after suffering from an inoperable aneurysm. Bobby served as Louisiana’s Lt. Governor wihen I was Secretary of State. We campaigned together back in the 1980s, and remained close friends to the end. Bobby and...Read More

May 19th, 2016 Baton Rouge, Louisiana  A MAJOR SHAKE UP NEEDED IN CONGRESS? With a national election only months away, the approval rate for members of Congress seems to be in free fall.  Few constituents approve of the dysfunction taking place in the nation’s capitol.  Just 10 years ago, Congress had an approval rating of 65%. ...Read More

Voters think their congressman is completely out of touch, and congress has a lower favorability rating than does polygamy. Members of congress rant and rave about the cesspool mentality in Washington, then jump right into the mix and make it a hot tub. What should congress do to regain some semblance of respect and voter...Read More

Weekend Radio Show Schedule to be posted Thursday afternoon.Read More

“Without question, to me, the issue is education,” says daughter Campbell Brown in the video above. “Two out of three eighth graders in this country cannot read or do math at grade level. We are not preparing our kids for what the future holds.” In the latest installment in a new weekly series from Slate,...Read More

Familiar Evil, by Louisiana author Rannah Gray and published by The Lisburn Press, has won top honors in the 2016 Independent Publisher Book Awards, or IPPY Awards, presented this year in Chicago. Familiar Evil was awarded the Gold Medal for first place in the True Crime category. The IPPY Awards are the world’s largest international...Read More

Are we supposed to be politically correct about everything we do? Some people think so. Well there are issues involving race, gays, transgenders, praying in public, and even who can or cannot bake a cake. Everything we do these days has a “politically correct” connotation attached to it. Have we gone to far in America,...Read More

Great news on the radio front. I am pleased to have a new station that will begin carrying the Jim Brown “Common Sense” program beginning this weekend. We will welcome listeners hearing our program on WBCR 1470am in Alcoa, TN. Alcoa is part of the greater Knoxville metropolitan area, so the station will give our...Read More

Thursday, May 12th, 2016 Baton Rouge, Louisiana  TOO MUCH POLITICAL CORRECTNESS IN LOUISIANA! I don’t know about you, but I sure am confused about all this current debate over gender equity, gay rights, and transgenders. I keep reading in the newspaper about LGBT. I had to look up the lettering to even know what the...Read More

We have a jammed packed radio program scheduled for this weekend and we sure hope you can join us. Lawyer Jacquelyn Clark (www.cowlesthompson.com) will help us explain this whole transgender issue that has dominated the news. Do you like to sing but having voice problems? Voice coach Gary Catona will offer his expert advice. (www.garycatona.com)....Read More

You can see about every kind of outfit down in the New Orleans French Quarter. I often broadcast my weekend radio program overlooking Jackson Square. Following the death of Prince, purple was seen everywhere. I’m shown with some lovely Crescent City ladies on an afternoon stroll all in purple. I hope you can make a...Read More

Thursday, May 5th, 2016 Baton Rouge, Louisiana HATE CRIMES IN LOUISIANA! There is a proposed new law that is roaring through the Louisiana legislature. Any physical attack on a law enforcement officer, firefighter or emergency services personnel will now be considered a hate crime. So what’s a hate crime you ask?  If someone is premeditatedly...Read More

Some crimes are so vicious that there would certainly seem to be hatred involved. But how do you tell? How do you get into someone’s head to figure out just what they are thinking? Do we need to have a “thought police?” Take a look at my new column now posted to see if you...Read More

We are ready to go for our weekend radio show. Time to make some common sense. We start off the program with Adm. Tom Church, to talk about his popular book, “Fixing Washington 2016.” See more by Clicking Here. Then Howard Eisenberg, who turned 90 this year, will discuss his career as an award-winning author,...Read More

There is really nothing like the sites and sounds you can hear in the French Quarter in the heart of New Orleans. Music is non-stop in Jackson Square. I can look out off my 3rd floor balcony and be entertained into the wee hours. I was out for a morning stroll last weekend, and came...Read More

Election Day less than six months away? Have you made your choice yet? Let’s be honest here. The race has come down to Clinton or Trump. That’s right. Unless you want to make a protest vote and cast a ballot for a third party candidate. So you are going to just have to hold your...Read More

Thursday, April 28th, 2016 Baton Rouge, Louisiana VOTER DISTRUST IN LOUISIANA AND ACROSS THE NATION! And I thought voters were distrustful, angry and confrontational a few years back when I held public office in Louisiana.  This coming federal election is viewed by many, including yours truly, as a herculean and rather grim battle between good...Read More

Weekend radio is close at hand, and we’ve a full pack schedule plan for her listeners. Prof. David Reynolds will be one of our guests to discuss taking Andrew Jackson off the $20 bill. He has written over 15 books, including “Walking Giant: America in the Age of Jackson.“ We will also touch on the...Read More

A special video. Combining dance, art and theater, this visual dance act called “Another Kind Of Blue” brings something new and exciting to interpretive dance and video. Using a screen with projected imagery as their backdrop, Violet and Nino create the illusion of floating, flying and leaping from tall heights, when really they’re lying down....Read More

Can you just imagine how much former Louisiana Governor Huey Long would relish being alive today, and right in the mist of the presidential election? The Kingfish would no doubt show Donald Trump and Bernie sanders a few political tricks as to how to appeal to the masses, particularly those who are fed up with...Read More

Thursday, April 21st, 2016 Baton Rouge, Louisiana THE KINGFISH, LOUISIANA, AND PRESIDENTIAL POLITICS!  Huey Long would have been right in the middle of the current presidential election if he were still alive. He began a legacy of a long list of Louisiana politicians who had national aspirations. Later governors John McKeithen, Edwin Edwards, Buddy Roemer...Read More

Our weekend radio schedule is close at hand, and we have a lively program plan for our listeners. How about all these third-party candidates running for president? Why do they do it? Will have several potential candidates on the show. And how’s your health? American citizens seem to be getting less and less healthy. What’s...Read More

OK. OK. I know this is a political and radio show website, but hey. We have to have a little fun now and then. So what better way to loosen up a bit than to see a Ventriloquist with Live talking Dog ? Take a minute to watch below and get a laugh.Read More

I’ve ben a big fan of the Fred Eaglesmith traveling music show for years.  Fred is a Canadian, but comes  to my home town of Baton Rouge once or twice a year to play at the Re3d Dragon Listening Room.  I’m always in that number.  Take a listen to Fred and his band below.Read More

There is a big debate going on down in Louisiana, as well as other states in the country, about a requirement that all motorcycle enthusiasts must wear a helmet when they’re on a bike. Those who oppose wearing helmets carry the banner of “freedom of choice.” But just what does this mean? Freedom of choice...Read More

Thursday, April 14th, 2016 Baton Rouge, Louisiana FREEDOM OF CHOICE IN MOTORCYCLE HELMET DEBATE! One of the hot issues in the current session of the Louisiana Legislature, meeting at the state capitol in Baton Rouge, is the repeal of a law that currently mandates the wearing of a safety helmet when riding a motorcycle.  Proponents...Read More

Radio guest schedule to be posted Friday morning.Read More

Sure if you’re bored, and have nothing better to do, you can take a look at my give-and-take with BayouBuzz publisher Steve Sabludowsky about the recent run in by Donald Trump’s campaign manager, Corey Lewandowski,  who was arrested for grabbing the arm of a news reporter at a  Trump rally.  Much ado  about nothing? I sure think...Read More

I love this confrontation between a young lady in a Starbucks, and Florida Gov. Rick Scott. Sure it’s funny, but the average voter just doesn’t have a way to express themselves to the political elite who run their lives anymore. It is s really amusing. And you know what? There’s nothing wrong with taking on...Read More

Thursday, April 6th, 2016 Baton Rouge, Louisiana CHILD ABUSE IN LOUISIANA! Since the time of Charles Dickens, the plight of children in state custody has been the source of great public anxiety. In the almost 200 years since Oliver Twist was published, many of us think of starving children immortalized by young Oliver who received...Read More

Are foster children being protected in Louisiana? That’s the focus of a new book (published by The Lisburn Press) called Familiar Evil. It charges that children supposedly under state care are allowed to b be put in unfit homes where child abuse takes place. And with little or no monitoring by the state of Louisiana?...Read More

Our weekend radio program is shaping up well as the week progresses. What would Donald Trump do for and to our national economy? Are his ideas sound? We will discuss.   And how can small businesses compete with the big box stores? There are lots of ways. And finally, why is the national political system so...Read More

Thursday, March 31st, 2016 Baton Rouge, Louisiana TRUMP AND LOUISIANA’S “CROOKED ELECTIONS”!  Donald Trump said he was stunned, shocked and livid about how elections are run way down in the Bayou State. He minced no words in giving his assessment of what happened in the recent Louisiana presidential primary. ” It tells you what a...Read More

Poor ole’ Donald Trump. He says he got snookered down in Louisiana. Although he won the popular vote in the recent Republican presidential primary, the state party gave the majority of delegates to Senator Ted Cruz. Foul play hollered Trump, and for good reason. But is that just the way elections are handled down in...Read More

The sparks will certainly fly on our weekend “Common Sense“ radio program this weekend. Jim will discuss scandals involving several of the Final Four teams, including Jim’s alma mater North Carolina. And how about Hillary Clinton’s $600 hair cut, that brought traffic to a halt in midtown Manhattan? Then there are Donald Trump’s incendiary comments...Read More

My deal friend and former Senator Sonny Mouton passed away this week. Sonny took me under wing when I was a new Louisiana state senator back in 1971, and we have been close since then. He was a giant in Louisiana politics, and worked hard as a public problem solver. New governors, once elected, immediately...Read More

Look at the photo showing some people walking to reach the final objective, to live in a European country. On the photo, there are 7 men and 1 woman. Notice that the woman is bare feet, accompanied by 3 children, and of the 3, she is carrying 2. None of the men are helping her. It is because...Read More

Thursday, March 24th, 2016 Baton Rouge, Louisiana FROM CESSPOOL TO HOT TUB IN LOUISIANA POLITICS! Who cares about any budget crisis in Louisiana? After all, it’s important that the Bayou State’s new governor and legislature set priorities. And they apparently have. They were not able to balance the state budget in a recent special session....Read More

As Liza Minnelli sang in the hit show Cabaret, “money makes the world go round.” It certainly does in politics, particularly here in my home state of Louisiana. Campaign dollars are the key factor in candidates getting elected, and in the buying of influence by lobbyists.  Politicians spend way too much time raising money. The...Read More

Easter weekend radio shows are often re-runs, but not the “Common Sense” program. We have a full agenda planned for our listeners. Pastor John Stahl helps us begin the show with an Easter message about a different perspective of the tomb where Jesus Christ was buried. See his website and new book at Twitter @JustJESUSThem.  Then,...Read More

Having gotten my start as a lawyer and a state senator in one of the most rural parts of America in Northeast Louisiana, and experienced the marvelous experience of attending a number of primarily African American churches, I learned that just about all Negro spirituals are written on the black notes of the piano. Probably...Read More

Trump’s Good Ol’ Days from MarkFiore on Vimeo.Read More

March 17th, 2016 Baton Rouge, Louisiana LSU SHOULD NOT BE A QUITTER! Is LSU a quitter? When the pressures mount, and things just don’t go as planned, are there too many instances where the state’s flagship university seems to walk away and pull the plug, with the hopes that the problem will just go away?...Read More

Does anyone like a quitter? I don’t. If you are a die-hard LSU fan, you might not like my new column about the administration at LSU quitting, both in sports and in academics. Of course, all of us fail from time to time. But quitting? It’s a reflection of giving up on striving for doing...Read More

Radio Program Schedule will be posted Thursday Afternoon.Read More

This whole story of why the FBI is insisting on compelling Apple to create an entirely new system to break into any iPhone is complicated, and difficult for many to understand. Comedian John Oliver does a pretty good job of putting this import problem into an understandable perspective. You can read my perspective by Clicking...Read More

March 10th, 2016 Baton Rouge, Louisiana SHOULD FEDS HAVE RIGHT TO BREAK INTO YOUR IPHONE? It sounds like a pretty straightforward request. The FBI wants to open up a criminal’s iPhone to see if a future crime can be stopped. This is the scenario of the San Bernardino shooter, who certainly forfeited his privacy rights...Read More

It’s Apple vs the FBI, and it seems like public opinion has switched in a manor fight of privacy vs security. The FBI says the whole controversy is a simple request to open one iPhone, but Apple says the request is to create a whole new operating system. Shouldn’t the world’s most powerful government be...Read More

Our “Common Sense” Radio program is just a few days away, and we have a lively show scheduled for the weekend. Attorney Rob Crane Will join us to discuss the $55 million judgment sportscaster Erin Andrews received against a stalker and a hotel. Was that reasonable? Also, our old friend Alan Topol will talk about...Read More

Maria Sharapova, one of the world’s all time great tennis players, admitted that she had erroneously taken an illegal drug for health reasons. She said she had been taking the drug mildronate for 10 years to address a number of health issues, But the drug was legal until just this year. I’ve been a follower...Read More

Well if you’re a regular viewer of this website, you know my base of operations is down in the deepest of the deep Southern states. Now my nationally syndicated radio program and my weekly column are generally not a reflection of the South. But we cannot drop our heritage, can we? And there are certainly...Read More