Monday, September 25th, 2023 Baton Rouge, Louisiana SEARCHING TO FIND THE GOOD LORD AND MY LEGACY!      Regular readers of my weekly columns know that I write about a cross-section of issues, from politics to good eating, insurance issues, heroes, the joys of living in the country, and even who I think killed JFK....Read More

Baton Rouge, Louisiana Monday, September 18th, 2023 SHOULD TRUMP’S TRIALS BE TELEVISED?  OF COURSE! President Donald Trump faces four different criminal trials in the coming months. Should each of these trials be televised for the public to watch and judge? The Supreme Court has stood steadfastly against letting the public watch the cases argued before...Read More

Monday, September 11th, 2023 Baton Rouge, Louisiana IT’S ALL ABOUT FOOTBALL AT LSU! I was paying my bill at the local supermarket here in Baton Rouge when the lady at the cash register asked me, “Are you going to the game in Tiger Stadium Saturday night?”  I paused for a minute, then told her: “I...Read More

Monday, September 4th, 2023 Baton Rouge, Louisiana SINGER OLIVER ANTHONY-RESPECTING WORKERS AND DISRESPECTING POLITICIANS! I am really confused about what’s going on in this country today.  At one time, the conventional wisdom was that the Democrats were for the blue-collar workingman, and the Republicans were for upper crust elites.  Now country music songs have entered...Read More

Monday, August 28th, 2023 Baton Rouge, Louisiana LIKE LOUISIANA AFTER KATRINA, FEDERAL AND STATE RESPONSE WEAK IN MAUI! If you live in Louisiana, we know all about a dysfunctional response to natural disasters. Remember Katrina? Are we witnessing another lackadaisical and debilitated response to the wildfire tragedy on the island of Maui in the Hawaiian...Read More

Monday, August 21st, 2023 Baton Rouge, Louisiana WHO DOES DONALD TRUMP SOUND LIKE? When the big issues are at stake, it seems like there’s always a Louisiana connection. The Louisiana Purchase, the Battle of New Orleans, the first shot of the Civil War was fired by a Louisiana Brigade.  So how does all this relate...Read More

Monday, August 14th, 2023 Baton Rouge, Louisiana AUTO INSURANCE RATES SHOULD BE GOING DOWN, NOT UP! Headlines across Louisiana blared out in recent weeks that automobile insurance rates in the state will see a huge increase.  State Farm, whose rate request was rubberstamped by the Department of Insurance, will increase its rates by an average...Read More

Monday, August 7th, 2023 Baton Rouge, Louisiana MISSISSIPPI DWARFS LOUISIANA IN EDUCATIONAL REFORM!      To get Louisiana off the bottom of the barrel when it comes to educational reform, nothing is more important than developing a preschool program that builds the foundation for young people to learn.  For a number of years, the leading...Read More

Monday, July 31st, 2023 Baton Rouge, Louisiana PARTISAN EXTREMISTS WANT TO KEEP US DIVIDED! Is this never going to end?  Both left and right wingers continue to lash out with charges filled with rumors and innuendo on issues that seem pretty reasonable to me. I don’t know about you, but I’m getting sick and tired...Read More

Monday, July 24th, 2023 Baton Rouge, Louisiana CRITICS OF SMALL TOWN LIVING! I grew up listening to classical music. That’s all I played in my truck when I was living in the small town of Ferriday. You know what I mean. My list of classical masterpieces were by Louisiana singers included melodies from the likes...Read More

Monday, July 17th, 2023 Baton Rouge, Louisiana  LOUISIANA PROPERTY OWNERS BEGGING FOR RELIEF! Can you afford your property insurance in Louisiana?  Rates across the state continue to go up. The legislature just finished its regular session, and no viable solutions were offered.  Headlines in national publications blurted out: “Louisiana insurance market is collapsing!” All the...Read More

Monday, July 10th, 2023 Baton Rouge, Louisiana ARE WE LOSING AM RADIO?  I’ve been a regular AM radio listener for most of my life.  And now I am terribly disappointed that AM radio stations are under siege.  We are learning that a number of major auto companies are giving up on AM radio. They will...Read More

Monday, July 3rd, 2023 Baton Rouge, Louisiana KENNEDY -STOP MEXICAN DRUG FLOW! U.S. Senator John Kennedy owes the Mexican people an apology. That is, according to the Mexican ambassador to the United States as well as the Baton Rouge Morning Advocate. The reason? Well because our Louisiana Senator is being too verbally tough on Mexico. ...Read More

Monday, June 26th, 2023 Baton Rouge, Louisiana                                WHO RUNS THE STATE WHEN THE GOVERNOR IS AWAY?                                                                            Who is in charge in the Bayou State when the Governor is out of the country? Most observers would say that it would...Read More

Monday, June 19th, 2023 Baton Rouge, Louisiana  IN DEFENSE OF DUMB COUNTRY LAWYERS!      I have a confession to make. And former President Trump is not going to like it.  I’m a southern country lawyer. Darn proud of it.  In the President’s words, I may be a “dumb southern country lawyer.”  I just hope...Read More

Monday, June 12th, 2023 Paris, France  FRANCE AND LOUISIANA. GOOD NEWS!  My family and I are currently on an extended vacation to Paris and Provence in central France.  Relations wit our country never have seemed better.  Our welcome was quite warm everywhere we traveled.  President Biden has developed a close and warm relationship with current...Read More

Monday, June 12th, 2023 Paris, France  FRANCE AND LOUISIANA. GOOD NEWS!  My family and I are currently on an extended vacation to Paris and Provence in central France.  Relations wit our country never have seemed better.  Our welcome was quite warm everywhere we traveled.  President Biden has developed a close and warm relationship with current...Read More

Monday, June 5th, 2023 Baton Rouge, Louisiana IN LOUISIANA, JUST TELL EM’ I LIED!      We are used to hearing legislators in Washington call each other liars.  Just a few months ago during the President’s State of the Union speech, Congressman Marjorie Taylor Greene of Georgia jabbed a thumbs down in the president’s direction...Read More

Monday, June 5th, 2023 Baton Rouge, Louisiana IN LOUISIANA, JUST TELL EM’ I LIED!      We are used to hearing legislators in Washington call each other liars.  Just a few months ago during the President’s State of the Union speech, Congressman Marjorie Taylor Greene of Georgia jabbed a thumbs down in the president’s direction...Read More

Monday, May 28th, 2023 Baton Rouge, Louisiana TIME FOR A NEW LOUISIANA CONSTITUTION? The last time Louisiana voters adopted a new state constitution was back in 1974.  The document took a year to write by 132 delegates who were part of a convention known as CC 73.  Few of these delegates are alive today, but...Read More

Monday, May 22nd, 2023 Baton Rouge, Louisiana  SPENDING OUT OF CONTROL BY SOME LOUISIANA STATE AGENCIES!      Sometimes, you just want to roll down your car window and let out a scream. No, not because someone is passing you in road rage. The kind of wrath I’m talking about is the outrageous spending that...Read More

Monday, May 15th, 2023 Baton Rouge, Louisiana LIVING A FULL LIFE AS WE GROW OLDER!  I just had a birthday. My 83rd. No, no, no, I’m not looking for any more congratulations. Like most of you who are on social media, I’ve been overwhelmed with good wishes. Yes, I do have to realize that I’m...Read More

Monday, May 8th, 2023 Baton Rouge, Louisiana LEGISLATORS GOTTA HAVE A PAY RAISE!  In case you missed the news bulletin, a number of legislators in Baton Rouge say they just have to have a big pay raise to survive.  The initial proposal was for legislators to see a pay bump from the current $16,800 to...Read More

Monday, May 1st, 2023 Baton Rouge, Louisiana  HANDICAPPING THIS YEAR’S GOVERNOR’S RACE!        Alright! Alright!  I just know all your readers are anxious to find out my thoughts on the coming gubernatorial election.  We are five and a half months away from the first primary election date (October 14th), with seven major candidates...Read More

Monday, April 24th, 2023 Baton Rouge, Louisiana  CAN YOU RIG VOTING MACHINES IN LOUISIANA?    Election officials across the country are being besieged over allegations of election fraud.  The major charge by those buying into the voter conspiracy is that voting machines can be and have been regularly hacked to manipulate state elections.  The pinnacle...Read More

Monday, April 17th, 2023 Baton Rouge, Louisiana RICHARD IEYOUB-A CLASS PUBLIC OFFICIAL! Former three term Attorney General Richard Ieyoub passed away last week at the age of 78.  He was currently serving as Louisiana’s commissioner of conservation, overseeing the regulation of all oil and gas activities in the state.  Richard and I were both good...Read More

Monday, April 10th, 2023 Baton Rouge, Louisiana  LOUISIANA LEGISLATURE OFFERS FEW PROPOSALS FOR INSURANCE CRISIS! The Louisiana legislature begins its annual session this week, and insurance proposals will certainly be on the front lawmaking burner.  The current insurance commissioner made a really insightful statement last week. “We are currently in the midst of an insurance...Read More

Monday, April; 3rd, 2023 Baton Rouge, Louisiana A LOUISIANA GAL GOT TRUMP INDICTED!  Whenever a major public event takes place in the news, there always seems to be a Louisiana connection. The initial shot that began the Civil War was fired at Ft. Sumpter by a St. Bernard parish confederate General named Pierre Gustave Toutant-Beauregard. The...Read More

  Monday, March 27th, 2023 Baton Rouge, Louisiana  IS CONGRESS TAKING OVER OUR LOCAL SCHOOL BOARDS?  School board elections in Louisiana used to be rather sleepy affairs, with generally a small turnout on election day.  Yes, there were often controversial issues considered by local boards.  School libraries have been the recent focus of heated debate,...Read More

Monday, March 20th, 2023 Baton Rouge, Louisiana ANOTHER QUESTIONABLE BAILOUT FOR BIG BANKS! Well, here we go again. Big banks are “high-fiving” each other after they won big in Washington last week.  We thought government regulators had learned an expensive lesson after the financial crash in 2008 that led to massive bailouts at taxpayers’ expense....Read More

Monday, March 12th, 2023 Baton Rouge, Louisiana A LOUISIANA HERO STOPPED THE MY LAI MASSACRE!     Let me tell you about a great American war hero.  His name is Hugh Thompson and he comes from Lafayette, Louisiana.  When you make a list of Louisiana’s best, special and brightness, Hugh Thompson will certainly be in that...Read More

Monday, March 5th, 2023 Baton Rouge, Louisiana IS LOUISIANA OBSESSED WITH GAMBLING!?  Welcome to Louisiana. Where you will find the largest assortment of gambling options anywhere. It might be the gambling mecca of the world. So go ahead and pick your poison. You can go to one of four federally approved Indian casinos and 43 state-licensed casinos...Read More

Monday, February 27th, 2023 Baton Rouge, Louisiana  COMPETENCY TESTS FOR ALL LOUISIANA PUBLIC OFFICIALS! Nikki Haley, the former governor of South Carolina, has announced her intention to run for the Republican presidential nomination. As part of her platform, she proposed that all candidates running for president who are over 75 years old take a mental...Read More

Monday, February 19th, 2023 Baton Rouge, Louisiana  CATHOLICS UNDER ATTACK BY THE FBI! Did you know that traditional Catholicism is under attack by the FBI for being extreme, and festering terrorism?  That’s right! The FBI issued a memo warning of extremists who are infiltrating “radical ““ traditionalist Roman Catholic organizations known primarily for the love...Read More

Monday, February 13th, 2023 Baton Rouge, Louisiana DEALING WITH A DREADED DISEASE! I returned a message from my friend I’ve known for many years. He was calling to tell me goodbye. He told me he was in the early stages of Alzheimer’s and didn’t know how his memory will hold up in the weeks to come....Read More

Monday, February 6th, 2023 Baton Rouge, Louisiana WE ALL NEED HEROES IN OUR LIVES! I’m a Tina Turner fan, but she got it wrong in her hit a few years back called “We don’t need another Hero.” The song goes on to say: We don’t need to know the way home, ooh All we want...Read More

Monday, January 30th, 2023 Baton Rouge, Louisiana THE MURDER IN BATON ROUGE OF BARRY SEAL! If you have lived in Louisiana for any length of time, you probably are familiar with the name of international drug runner Barry Seal.  Tom Cruise played the part of Seal in the 2017 movie “American made.”  And Dennis Hopper...Read More

Monday, January 23rd, 2023 Baton Rouge, Louisiana THE KENNEDY ASSASSINATION, OSWALD AND NEW ORLEANS! The Kennedy assassination is back in the news as a series of documents have been released involving the investigation that goes back 60 years. President Kennedy was assassinated on November 13, 1963, while riding in his motorcade in Dallas, Texas. The...Read More

Monday, January 16th, 2023 Baton Rouge, Louisiana  IT’S SO HARD TO BE POLITICALLY CORRECT! I have enjoyed writing this column for the past 17 years. But I’ve got to tell you, it’s really a challenge writing one each week in this day and age. You see, I’ve got to be “politically correct” so as to...Read More

PROPERTY OWNERS BEG FOR RELIEF IN LOUISIANA! Not such a happy new year if you were a property owner in the Bayou State.  Property insurance rates throughout Louisiana are skyrocketing. In New Orleans, the state run insurance company now charges as much as an 83% increase. Headlines in national publications blurted out: LOUISIANA INSURANCE MARKET...Read More

January 2nd, 2023 Baton Rouge, Louisiana NEW YEAR THOUGHTS FROM THE BAYOU STATE! Do you make New Year’s resolutions? I always do.  A New Year always brings with it promise and uncertainty, but this coming year brings with it a greater foreboding than we have experienced in the past.  The Chinese have a saying: “May...Read More

Monday, December 26th, 2022 Baton Rouge, Louisiana  THE JOYS OF COUNTRY LIVIN’ After several recent columns about my relationship with Jerry Lee Lewis, several readers have written to ask what I found so appealing about living in Ferriday.  I think it’s more the slower pace of living in a rural area. I enjoyed my time...Read More

Monday, December 19th, 2022 Baton Rouge, Louisiana THE HOLIDAYS OFFER US A SECOND CHANCE! Most of us have been swept up in the momentum of the holiday season. We have passed Thanksgiving, reached the Christmas milestone and are approaching New Year’s Day, the third in the trilogy of holidays. Sure, there is a lot of our...Read More

Monday, December 12th, 2022 Baton Rouge, Louisiana  HOMEOWNERS INSURANCE MAY BECOME UNAFFORDABLE ALONG THE GULF COAST! Just when you thought the insurance crisis along the gulf coast, particularly in Louisiana, could not get any worse, along comes congress to try and really muck up the problems faced by property owners who are trying to protect...Read More

Monday, December 5th, 2022 Baton Rouge, Louisiana  ILLEGAL GAMBLING HAS INVADED LSU! Gambling is everywhere in Louisiana. Presently, the state has 15 so called “floating” casinos, a huge land-based casino in downtown New Orleans, four racetrack casinos, 200 truck stop casinos and over 1000 restaurants and bars that have video poker machines. Wow!  So is...Read More

Monday, November 28th, 2022 Baton Rouge, Louisiana WHY DO WE HAVE HATE CRIMES? There has been a wave of mass shootings in recent weeks.  At a gay nightclub in Colorado Springs, a shooter killed five people and injured 17 others that has been called a hate crime. In Chesapeake, Virginia, a Walmart supervisor shot and...Read More

Monday, November 20th, 2022 Baton Rouge, Louisiana LOUISIANA VOTERS NEED ELECTION ALTERNATIVES! In last week’s column, I wrote about the aversion of a large number of Louisiana voters who were not in favor of any candidate on the ballot.  Many voters just wanted to throw the bums out.  But most of the incumbents running for...Read More

Monday, November 14th, 2022 Baton Rouge, Louisiana A BREAK FROM POLITICS SO WE DON’T GET FOOLED AGAIN! Don’t you and I deserve a campaign break? For months, we’ve been suffering through accusatory political rhetoric from both parties. I don’t know about you, but I think we all should tune out for a while. After all,...Read More

Rev. Jimmy Swaggart joined me in honoring Jerry Lee. November 7th, 2022 Ferriday, Louisiana I wrote last week about the passing of Jerry Lee Lewis, who, in my opinion, was the greatest rock and roller of all time. Since I was in attendance at his funeral, I thought readers would like to know how the...Read More

Monday, October 31st, 2022 Baton Rouge, Louisiana THE END OF ONE OF ROCK AND ROLL’S AL TIME GREATS!  Sad news for us rock and rollers all over America, and for that matter, all over the world. The Killer passed away last week after living a full 87 years of life.  Although he lived in a...Read More

Monday, October 23rd, 2022 Baton Rouge, Louisiana  TWO CHEERS FOR THE FRENCH- ESPECIALLY IN LOUISIANA! As the Ukrainian War drags on, some of America’s strongest allies are becoming less than supportive, in spite of strong urging by the Biden Administration.  India has failed to offer any help, and the British support is becoming shaky due...Read More

Monday, October 17th, 2022 Baton Rouge, Louisiana ABOLISH THE DEATH PENALTY IN LOUISIANA?  A jury last week in Parkland, Florida recommended Nikolas Cruz get life in prison for killing 17 people, sparing Cruz from a death sentence after his lawyers argued he had a troubled upbringing.  I read a great deal about this case and I...Read More

Monday, October 10th, 2022 Baton Rouge, Louisiana LIVING AND DYING IN LOUISIANA! Eighteen years ago this week, Derrick Todd Lee received the death penalty in Louisiana. He was the state’s most notorious and prolific serial killer. I was there in the courtroom when the verdict was handed down. It was a cool Tuesday evening, and...Read More

Monday, October 3rd, 2022 Baton Rouge, Louisiana WHAT TO DO ABOUT HOMEOWNER’S INSURANCE?  Well, what do you know.  We finally have a governor in Louisiana who is showing an interest in the property insurance crisis that is sweeping the state.  One of the problems here in the Bayou State is that the governor has no...Read More

Monday, September 26th, 2022 Baton Rouge, Louisiana HELLO AND GOODBYE TO LOUISIANA SENATOR ELLENDER! This week marks the birthday of former Louisiana U.S. Senator Allen J. Ellender.  He was born in 1890, and in his heyday, Ellender was the most prominent Senator in Washington and a powerful voice for the Bayou State. I first met...Read More

Monday, September 19th, 2022 Baton Rouge, Louisiana CENSORSHIP ALIVE AND WELL IN LOUISIANA! Efforts to ban books are accelerating in Louisiana as well as all across the nation. According to a new report from the American Library Association, there have been “an unprecedented number of attempts to ban books,” more than any time in recent memory....Read More

Monday, September 12th, 2022 New Orleans, Louisiana  THE SEARING OF A GREAT CITY’S SOUL! (New Orleans a war zone) The real estate website Home Bay just released its national rankings of the best places in the U.S. to retire.  So where is the number one location?  Are you ready for this? Numero Uno is the...Read More

Monday, September 5th, 2022 Baton Rouge, Louisiana LOUISIANA DEMOCRATS BETRAY JEFFERSON AND JACKSON! I don’t know about you, but I have always loved to read and study Louisiana History. I’ve had the pleasure of teaching the history of the Bayou State at both Tulane University and LSU. And when it comes to examining the giant...Read More

Monday, August 29th, 2022 Baton Rouge, Louisiana  BAD IDEA FOR STUDENT LOAN FORGIVENESS! I’m sorry to say that President Biden does not pay much attention to me.  I wrote in my weekly column back in early July that forgiving federally guaranteed student loans was bad fiscal policy, and unfair to all of the rest of...Read More

Monday, August 22nd, 2022 Baton Rouge, Louisiana HOW DO WE COME TOGETHER AGAIN?  Abraham Lincoln was elected President 162 years ago.  Civil War buffs are looking back to these war years for lessons learned in the current debate over the stagnation of the American political process today.  Historians say that there were two Americas-a house...Read More

Monday, August 15th, 2022 Baton Rouge, Louisiana OVERREACH BY FBI AGAINST TRUMP! Was the FBI raid on President Trump’s Florida home justified? And even if the former president had in his possession classified documents, was it necessary for his private residence to be invaded by swat team FBI agents holding AK 15 assault rifles like...Read More

Monday, August 8th, 2022 Baton Rouge, Louisiana WHAT IF I WON THE LOUISIANA LOTTERY?  Here’s my question to you in this week’s column. Do you feel lucky? Not the luck you would want if you were confronted by Dirty Harry. Remember Clint Eastwood’s words: “You’ve got to ask yourself one question: “˜Do I feel lucky?...Read More

August 8th, 2022 Baton Rouge, Louisiana WHAT IF I WON THE LOTTERY?  Here’s my question to you in this week’s column. Do you feel lucky? Not the luck you would want if you were confronted by Dirty Harry. Remember Clint Eastwood’s words: “You’ve got to ask yourself one question: “˜Do I feel lucky? Well do...Read More

Monday, July 1st, 2022 Baton Rouge, Louisiana ARE BASEBALL AND POLITICS INTERTWINED? We are halfway through the current baseball season, and congressional elections are just a few months away.  So just what is America’s favorite pastime? Is it politics or baseball? Politics has always been a major spectator sport, particularly here in my home state of...Read More

July 24th, 2022 Baton Rouge, Louisiana DON’T WORRY, BE HAPPY IN LOUISIANA! Bayou State residents are well aware that Louisiana is a pleasant place to live. Some would sarcastically say that we are fat, dumb, and happy down here in the deepest of the deep southern states. The state motto is, after all, Laissez les bons...Read More

Monday, July 18th, 2022 Baton Rouge, Louisiana HIGHER POLICE STANDARDS TO PROTECT OUR KIDS! There is a poignant family portrait, painted in 1943 by Norman Rockwell, called “Freedom of Fear,” that shows a mother and father standing over their sleeping children. The father holds a newspaper with a headline that refers to the Blitz of...Read More

Monday, July 11th, 2022 Baton Rouge, Louisiana STUDENT LOAN FORGIVENESS?  NO WAY! Forgive all outstanding student loans? Sure, why not. What this means is that all other taxpayers, that’s you and me, will pick up the cost and pay more taxes.  And the price is really not all that much, is it?  There are over...Read More

  Hey all you food lovers. Here is another episode of our new podcast, #DatelineLouisiana, just dropped. This week, my co-host  and I are talking about Louisiana food! Listen anywhere — or right here! https://www.buzzsprout.com/…/10860468-episode-2-food-of…Read More

Tuesday, July 5th, 2022 Baton Rouge, Louisiana KEYSTONE PIPELINE-LOUISIANA’S ECONOMIC SAVIOR? The approval of the Keystone pipeline is back in the news as petroleum interests and members of the Louisiana congressional delegation are calling on the President to get this project moving forward. So is building the pipeline the huge job creator and the economic...Read More

Monday, June 27th, 2022 Baton Rouge, Louisiana  WATERGATE, LOUISIANA, AND RICHARD NIXON! This month marks the 50-year anniversary of the Watergate break-in.  Those of us who remember we’re often mesmerized by the full press coverage the event produced. I was commuting to Baton Rouge each day in 1972 as a delegate to the constitutional convention....Read More

June 20th, 2022 Baton Rouge, Louisiana INSURANCE REFORM FALLS FLAT!  Remember your ancient history of how Nero fiddled as Rome burned?  Boy does that apply to the Louisiana legislature.  Now we are talking about the state that has far and away the highest insurance rates in the nation. Yet in the recent legislative session, insurance...Read More

June 13th, 2022 Baton Rouge, Louisiana ELECTION FRAUD A CAMPAIGN ISSUE! Undertaking the job of Secretary of State used to be fairly routine.  I should know as I held this elected post in Louisiana for eight years during the 1980s.  I even served as president of the National Secretary of State Association, where then was...Read More

Monday, June 6th, 2022 Baton Rouge, Louisiana EWE AND JOHN MCKEITHEN- A STRAINED RELATIONSHIP! A bit of political history in this week’s column. Edwin Edwards had succeeded John McKeithen as governor, but the two them did not maintain much of a relationship during Edwards’ first term in the governor’s office.  McKeithen had actively supported Edwards...Read More

May 30th, 2022 Baton Rouge, Louisiana THOUGHTS AFTER TEXAS KILLINGS!  If you have small children or grandchildren, it’s difficult to process how a deranged assassin could slaughter such innocent youngsters. Yet it has become a regular happening all over America. After each shooting, we hear cries of “not this, not ever again.”  But what’s happening...Read More

Monday, May 23rd, 2022 Baton Rouge, Louisiana  HONORS POUR IN FOR JERRY LEE LEWIS! Louisiana rockabilly Jerry Lee Lewis has just been elected to the Country Music Hall of Fame.  He has already been inducted in the Rock and Roll Hall of fame, so the honors keep pouring in for this Louisiana musical icon.  Let...Read More

Monday, May 16th, 2022 Baton Rouge, Louisiana WHAT’S GOING ON IN LOUISIANA AND ALL OF AMERICA?  Remember the song a few years back? “How low can you go? Cause I wanna know. How low can you go?”  Well apparently, as a state and a nation, we still have lower to go. The Wall Street Journal...Read More

Monday, 9th, 2022 Baton Rouge, Louisiana GETTING OLDER AIN’T ALL THAT BAD! I woke up from this strange dream last night. I got out of bed, looked in the new mirror and saw the face of a rather interesting old guy who just turned 82. Eighty-Two?  And then it dawned on me.  It wasn’t a...Read More

Monday, May 2nd, 2022 Baton Rouge, Louisiana GARTH BROOKS WOWS THEM IN TIGER STADIUM! Oh if you could have been last Saturday night in Tiger Stadium packed with a crowd of over 102,000 fans, all to hear super country music star Garth Brooks.  It couldn’t get any bigger than this.   And the crowd’s greatest response,...Read More

Monday, April 25th, 2022 Baton Rouge, Louisiana  TIME TO ACT ON VIOLENT CRIME IN LOUISIANA! A mother’s wailing, tormented cry over the senseless killing of her three-year-old son cut through anyone’s sense of decency. “You killed my baby” sobbed the Baton Rouge mother just last week.  Her child was killed in his bed by a...Read More

As a book publisher, I look with the leery eyes when someone talks about banning books. Of course, there are books that are both inappropriate and disgusting. But often, these decisions about the importance of the book often are in the eye of the beholder. Let me give me just one example. One of the...Read More

Tuesday, April 19th, 2022 Baton Rouge, Louisiana SARAH PALIN WOULD FIT IN WELL IN LOUISIANA! Former vice-presidential candidate Sarah Palin is back in the news, announcing that she will be a candidate for Alaska’s single congressional seat. Fifty candidates have signed up to run, but with Palin’s national statue, one would think that she would...Read More

Monday, April 11th, 2022 Baton Rouge, Louisiana LEADERSHIP NEEDED ON LOUISIANA PROPERTY INSURANCE Britain’s former Prime Minister Benjamin Disraeli was full of insight with his poignant anecdotes. He once summed up the political courage of one of his opponents by observing: “Our citizens are moving in the streets. And I must find out which way...Read More

Monday, April 4th, 2022 Baton Rouge, Louisiana HOW IMPORTANT IS UKRAINE TO AMERICA?  My home state of Louisiana is some 6000 miles away from Kyiv, Donbas, Crimea, and the Azov Sea.  Yet an overwhelming majority of Louisianians, along with most Americans, have no idea where these places are located.  For that matter, most of us...Read More

Monday, March 28th, 2022 Baton Rouge, Louisiana KEEP YOUR COVID GUARD UP!  With a new strain of the Covid lurking, there are reports of a major uptick of infections this coming summer. If you are not that concerned, let me tell you how my Covid experience transpired. What happened to me was horrendous. I would...Read More

Monday, March 21st, 2022 Baton Rouge, Louisiana LEGISLATIVE INSURANCE REFORM A DUD!  The headlines blared across newspapers and television stations last week.  “State insurance leaders join forces on Catastrophe Reform Legislative Package,” featured the Lake Charles American Press.  “An insurance reform package is working its way through the Louisiana Legislature, “publicized TV station WDSU in...Read More

Monday, March 14th, 2022 Baton Rouge, Louisiana HOW TO STAND WITH UKRAINE! Following my column this past week on how Louisianans are affected by the current war in Ukraine, I was surprised at the number of responses I received asking just what the average citizen can or should do to help this besieged country.  This...Read More

Monday, March 7th, 2022 Baton Rouge, Louisiana  DOES THE UKRAINIAN TRADEGY AFFECT US IN LOUISIANA?  When I bring up the subject of Ukraine with friends here in Louisiana, the response is more often than not some interest and a bit of concern, but that’s about all.  They don’t feel they are really affected.  So should...Read More

Monday, February 28th, 2022 Baton Rouge, Louisiana  THE CHANGES IN LOUISIANA’S QUALITY OF LIFE!  All we know Left untold Beaten by a broken dream Nothing like what it used to be We’ve been chasing our demons down an empty road Singer Alan Walker  These words hit home to me as I read a number of...Read More

Monday, February 21st, 2022 Baton Rouge, Louisiana THE TWO BEST THERE EVER WAS AT LSU! Two Heisman Trophy winners have come out of LSU.  Right now, Joe Burrow is the toast of Tiger Land along with the whole state of Louisiana. He will be a Bayou Bengal legend for decades to come.  But don’t forget...Read More

Monday, February 14th, 2022 Baton Rouge, Louisiana  MAJOR PROPERTY INSURANCE RATES ON THE RISE IN LOUISIANA! Louisiana homeowners know a good bit about suffering, particularly when it comes to being stuck with the highest property insurance rates in the nation. The Clark Research Group determined that Louisiana has some of the highest insurance costs, coming...Read More

February 2nd, 2022 Baton Rouge, Louisiana  GET THE POLITICIANS OUT OF REAPPORTIONMENT! There’s a lot of wrangling, wheeling and dealing going on down at the state capital in Baton Rouge.   State legislators are presently meeting in a special session to redraw the districts they represent.  Such action is required to take place every ten years...Read More

February 1st, 2022 Baton Rouge, Louisiana  ALL YOU REALLY NEED IS A SHOTGUN, TWO SHELLS, AND INSURANCE, HUH? You think insurance policyholders in Louisiana face huge insurance requirements?  How about living in San Jose, California, where the city council just voted to adopt a first-in-the-nation ordinance requiring most gun owners to pay a fee and...Read More

January 24th, 2022 Baton Rouge, Louisiana AUTO INSURANCE RATES SKYROCKETING! Now let’s see.  It’s been almost two years since the Louisiana legislature passed legislation taking away certain legal rights of Louisiana insurance policyholders.  But it will be worth it said many legislators and the insurance commissioner.  We were assured that there was to be a...Read More

January 17th, 2022 Baton Rouge, Louisiana Louisiana Has Worst Drivers in the U.S.! Say it isn’t so. The Bayou State, made up of docile souls who are law abiding, courteous and well-trained motorists, has just been tagged by several rating services as having the worst drivers in the nation. Look, the folks down here in...Read More

Monday, January 10th, 2022 Baton Rouge, Louisiana  BOTTOM OF THE BARREL IN LOUISIANA,  BUT IT’S ALL ABOUT THE FOOTBALL COACH! Perception and reality often intertwine.  At Louisiana’s flagship university as well as other major universities across the country, any talk of the so called “revered tradition of amateurism” has gone by the wayside.  College athletes...Read More

Monday, January 3rd, 2022 Baton Rouge, Louisiana SHOULD THE FEDS MAKE LOUISIANA A PROTECTORATE? HECK YES! Hey, I have a good suggestion for a New Year’s resolution. Have you heard the cries that Louisiana is unable to take care of its problems, and should be treated differently than other states? Some even say, OK, then...Read More

December 27th, 2021 Baton Rouge, Louisiana NEW YEAR THOUGHTS FROM THE BAYOU STATE! Do you make New Year’s resolutions? I always do.  A New Year always brings with it promise and uncertainty, but this coming year brings with it a greater foreboding than we have experienced in the past.  The Chinese have a saying: “May...Read More

Thursday, December 20th, 2021 Baton Rouge, Louisiana THE HOLIDAYS OFFER US A SECOND CHANCE! Most of us have been swept up in the momentum of the holiday season. We have passed Thanksgiving, reached the Christmas milestone and are approaching New Year’s Day, the third in the trilogy of holidays. Sure, there is a lot of our...Read More