Thursday, February 26th, 2015 Baton Rouge, Louisiana  LIKE OIL AND WATER RELIGION AND POLITICIANS DON’T MIX! I guess the good Lord has to put up with politicians. Nary a week goes by when some governor or other political type is holding a prayer rally and declaring that the ills of the nation can be cured...Read More

The question for the day: Does the Good Lord need politicians to pontificate and help him out? Apparently, a number of governors and other elected officials seem to think so. Prayer rallies seem to be springing up on a regular basis. Now there is nothing wrong with prayer. We need much more of it. But...Read More

First of all let me welcome a new station to the “Common Sense” network, WRMN-1410 AM in Elgin, Illinois in the suburbs of Chicago. We have a growing listenership throughout the Midwest, and we sure are glad to have these Midwesterners join us each week.  Tax season is close at hand, unfortunately, and we will...Read More

Are you a Michael Bolton fan? The crooner has been around for a good while and has had numerous hit songs. And he is really a busy guy. Multiple Grammy Award-winning Singer, Songwriter and Social Activist, who has sold more than 53 million albums and singles worldwide, continues to tour the world every year, all...Read More

Former New York City Mayor Rudy Giuliani rightly has held the title for a number of years as “America’s Mayor.” I’ve always liked Rudy, and have had the chance to visit with him on several occasions. When 9/11 happened, there probably could not of been a better person to lead a rally of renewal than...Read More

Thursday, February 19th, 2015 Baton Rouge, Louisiana DON’T TELL ME TO EITHER SPEAK ENGLISH OR LEAVE AMERICA! My Louisiana governor has me puzzled again in his quixotic quest to be a player on the national stage. I thought Bobby Jindal was part of a Republican Party that tells government to get off our backs and...Read More

So it should be mandatory that everyone in America speaks English-right? Well, according to Louisiana’s ambitious governor and presidential candidate, Bobby Jindal, you should speak English or ship out. But if Jindal would hang around his home state a little more, he would notice that a number of languages are spoken here in the Bayou...Read More

  “Common Sense Radio Weekend is shaping up nicely, with a lively list of guests and topics. I want to take close look at the Middle East and how on earth a small band of a Islamic radicals called ISIS has the whole world focused on their destruction and mayhem. What is it they want,...Read More

So it’s springtime, and you are setting your priorities and riles to govern your life in 2015.  Just to help out, here are a few “rules of the road” I might suggest.Read More

I urge you to take a few moments to watch this chilling video, narrated in poetry, that shows us what we are up against in understanding a culture half way around the world that we do not comprehend.  The events that take place seem surreal, yet they happen everyday.  For our own protection, we have...Read More

Post by BuzzFeed Video.Read More

  February 12th, 2015 Baton Rouge, Louisiana AMERICA’S COACH-DEAN SMITH LOVED LOUISIANA! One of the all time great coaches in college basketball passed away this week. North Carolina’s Dean Smith had retired with more wins than any coach in history, along with capturing two national championships. But to those who knew him, and I consider...Read More

One of the all time great coaches in college basketball passed away this week. North Carolina’s Dean Smith had retired with more wins than any coach in history, along with capturing two national championships. But to those who knew him, and I consider myself in that elite number, he was much more than a coach....Read More

The “Common Sense” radio weekend show is fast approaching with a full schedule of topics and guests on tap. And by the way, there is a real shake up in media from NBCs Brian Williams’ suspension to a number of other media changes. I know many of the players involved, including Williams, and we will...Read More

Hey, all my kids are smart. Good genes, of course. But one writer thinks my oldest daughter is, well, just about the most important gal in America. Maybe a bit of an exaggeration? Probably so. But heck, it’s still good reading, and she has seized the mantel of America’s educational reformer. Check out this latest...Read More

Thursday, February 5th, 2014 New Orleans, Louisiana  LOUISIANA TAXPAYERS AT RISK OVER BENSON FAMILY SQUABBLE! If you haven’t been following the Benson family soap opera that has dominated news across the state, you are missing a billion dollar power play that’s much better than fiction. New Orleans automobile tycoon and sports icon Tom Benson is...Read More

What a soap opera. In Louisiana, all they are talking about is the Tom Benson family squabble over who will take over the Football Saints and the basketball Pelicans once Benson steps down. And it has become a real slugfest with ole’ Tom’s grandkids trying to get him declared incapacitated. A major concern is the...Read More

Radio Schedule will be posted Friday-PM.Read More

Gotta Love these Guys! Our troops have not lost their sense of humor.Read More

A lot  of people email me or stop me  to ask why daughter Campbell got out of television  and became so intensely involved in educational reform.  She explains why below.  Take a look.Read More

Are you ready to once again bail out the Wall Street Fat Cats who take enormous risks, knowing full well that if they fail, the taxpayers will be there to bail them out? Little folks like us just have to “suck it up.” But congress has been inundated with campaign contributions from Wall Street and...Read More

Weekend Radio Schedule will be posted Friday morning.Read More

Thursday, January 29th, 2015 Baton Rouge, Louisiana LOUISIANA JOINS IN GIVING BAILOUTS TO WALL STREET! Well, here we go again. Big banks and major insurance companies are “high-fiving” each other after they won big in Washington last month. We thought lawmakers had learned an expensive lesson after the financial crash in 2008 that led to...Read More

Daughter Campbell went viral on Bloomberg TV this week in talking about “inflate-gate” and the New England Patriots breaking the rules to get into the Superbowl.  She’s a Tom Brady fan, but check out her comments below.Read More

FRED EAGLESMITH’S TRAVELING ROAD SHOW performed at the Red Dragon in Baton Rouge last weekend. Fred is a Canadian who is really funny with a wacky band to back him up. He’s a rock n’ roller from the 60s and puts on one heck of a show. Check out his video below.Read More

Thursday, January 22nd, l2014 Baton Rouge, Louisiana  FOR BOBBY JINDAL- FIRST THE MUSLIMS, THEN THE WORLD!  Louisiana’s feisty absentee Governor Bobby Jindal sure knows how some things that are not politically correct, so brace yourselves.” So naturally, I held onto my desk, took a deep breath, assumed the worst, and braced myself.  The Republican presidential...Read More

Well, Louisiana’s controversial Governor, Bobby Jindal has stirred up a hornet’s nest with his claims that Muslims better start shaping up and speaking out. Jindal told us to “brace ourselves” cause he wasn’t going to pull any punches over all these cities in Europe where Muslim communities are enforcing sharia law on residents, ignoring the...Read More

Weekend Radio Schedule will be posted Thursday afternoon.Read More

Do you get frustrated with some many airline problems when you travel? I do. But I love this story. A musician named Dave Carroll recently had difficulty with United Airlines. Dave spent over 9 months trying to get United to pay for damages caused by baggage handlers to his custom Taylor guitar. During his final...Read More

Thursday, January 15th, 2014 Baton Rouge, Louisiana  CAN REPUBLICANS SHAKE THE CURSE OF DAVID DUKE? Poor Congressman Steve Scalise. He should be on cloud nine having reached the pinnacle of political success by being elected majority whip in the Republican controlled congress. But out of the blue, he is blindsided by a 28-year-old democratic blogger...Read More

Bloggers today can be tough hombres. Just ask new Republican majority whip Steve Scalise. A 28-year-old law student from Alexandria, Louisiana who blogs for fun outed the Louisiana 1st district congressman for having once spoke to a group that was founded by white supremacist David Duke. Democrats and some conservative Republicans are calling for Scalise’s...Read More

Weekend radio schedule will be posted Thursday afternoon.Read More

There certainly is a great deal of controversy over our country as to how police officers deal in crisis situation. There certainly is overreaction by some officers, and this should be investigated and those officers who cross the line should be brought to justice. But by and large, most police officers do there job, day...Read More

Joe Ely is quite a guy. He’s a well known an American singer, songwriter and guitarist whose music touches on honky-tonk, country and rock and roll. He has had a genre-crossing career, performing with Bruce Springsteen, The Clancy Brothers and James McMurtry in addition to his more recent acoustic tours with Lyle Lovett, John Hiatt,...Read More

Has college football gotten too big for its financial britches? It’s all about money, with players not wanting to attend class, and both coaches and college administrators looking out for the all mighty dollar. What happened to integrity and building character? Good luck with that. My new column takes a look at how money is...Read More

It’s Weekend Radio Time, ad we are kicking off the New Year with a look into the crystal ball to check out a variety of issues that will no doubt be facing this country today. Will the new Congress really make any difference in Washington? Can Republicans be proactive, rather than just being obstructionists? Will...Read More

Thursday, January 7th, 2014 Baton Rouge, Louisiana  HAS COLLEGE FOOTBALL BECOME A PRO SPORT? It’s the end of the college football season, and the year has produced a financial bonanza for top tier schools all over the country. ESPN will pay over 7 billion dollars for the rights to telecast just seven games a year...Read More

Here is a major new book from our own The Lisburn Press.  Thunderbolt is a true to life novel about the changes that are taking place in the Catholic Church today. It is a compelling story by first time author Chip Songy of a young Louisiana priest on the fast track for promotion up the...Read More

Friday, December 2nd, 2014 Baton Rouge, Louisiana  DUTCH MORIAL-A SPECIAL LOUISIANA POLITICIAN! I drove down to New Orleans for a funeral service last week. I find myself attending a growing number of funerals each year as I get older and as and long time friends pass away. I’ll turn 75 in May of this New...Read More

When you consider Louisiana political figures that have had a major influence on the state, former New Orleans Mayor Dutch Morial is high on the list. He was the first African American to serve and be elected in a number of major positions. Dutch died 25 years ago, but his remains were reinterred last week...Read More

Weekend radio is fast approaching and we are excited about kicking off the New Year with a lively program. Let’s forget 2014. It was a so so year. But there is much to talk but as we look at predictions as to what will happen in 2015. So get your New Year’s resolutions ready and...Read More

We have a new publication just published here at The Lisburn Press, The Clarke Williams Story. Clarke Williams is the classical rags to riches story. He set out to prove that his religious faith has a place in creating a business, and he discovered unbounded success. He proved that building a company in the legacy of...Read More

Happy New Year to all of my friends who follow my ramblings on this website. Let’s all wish and hope for a more productive and enjoyable 2015.Read More

Friday, December 26th, 2014 Baton Rouge, Louisiana  RHETORIC AND DEATH GO HAND IN HAND IN POLICE OFFICER MURDERS! Don’t let them tell you otherwise. Words matter. The old saying that “Sticks and stones can hurt my bones, but words can never hurt me?” Wrong! Dead wrong! Words can inflame, and the rhetoric can reach such...Read More

Words! Words! Words! We are an opinionated people and the right to protest and strongly state your opinion is part of our heritage and basic in our Constitution. But sometimes, words can incite violence and bad things can happen. Words can set the stage for real tragedy. And that’s what we saw in a culmination...Read More

Weekend Radio Schedule will be posted Friday afternoon!Read More

It’s been a nice holiday season touching base with friends from all over the country. We’ve had a great Christmas down here in the deepest of the deep Southern states. No snow, something we rarely get, and the temperature hit the mid 60s on Christmas Day. We don”˜t ski or get out to enjoy the...Read More

If you are a bit older like me, you were part of a new generation of music that blossomed at Woodstock back in 1966. I almost went to the festival. The showstopper was an Englishman, Joe Cocker. He gyrated all over the stage in a style that was unique and his trademark.  I’ve been a...Read More

So what do we do? Give up some of our key moral values as a nation to provide security? Do the ends justify the means? Has the world changed so that America must torture suspected terrorists if it is to protect its citizens? All timely and relevant questions with the newly released Senate Intelligence report...Read More

Our weekly radio program is approaching, and there will certainly be a lot to talk about this weekend. Renewing relations with Cuba brings up the whole immigration problem, and what we do with the millions of illegals in this country today. David Strange is a managing partner at the law firm of Whittenburg, Strange, &...Read More

Thursday, December 18th, 2014 Baton Rouge, Louisiana  SO DO WE AND SHOULD WE TORTURE? And we thought Jack Bauer on the Fox TV show “24” was heavy handed in his use of torture techniques. Jack was a piker compared to CIA operatives who utilized about every method of pain infliction imaginable. And then, Vice President...Read More

On November 20-21, former Florida Governor Jeb Bush, chairman of the Foundation for Excellence in Education (ExcelinEd), hosted the organization’s 2014 National Summit on Education Reform in Washington, D.C. At the nation’s premier annual education forum, lawmakers and policymakers were immersed in two days of in-depth discussions on proven policies and innovative strategies to improve...Read More

I’m a big  flash mob  guy, and post a number of musical spontaneous events here on my website.  Here is a special one in the holiday season.  Starting with a single cellist on the floor of the National Air and Space Museum’s “Milestones of Flight” gallery, and swelling to 120 musicians, The U.S. Air Force...Read More