Thursday, November 15th, 2018 New Orleans, Louisiana  SANCTUARY CITIES FLOUT IMMIGRATION LAWS! The President has made illegal immigrants who have moved in to what are called “Sanctuary Cities” a major issue in recent months, even signing an executive order cutting off funds to municipalities that ignore federal law. The Crescent City is in the forefront of...Read More

Thursday, November 8th, 2018 Baton Rouge, Louisiana MORE INTEREST NEEDED IN LOUISIANA ELECTIONS! This past Tuesday’s election stirred mediocre interest here in the Bayou State. This was the fifth election in Louisiana in 2018.  And get ready for six election dates in 2019.  There was a 45% turnout last week, even though voters witnessed a...Read More

Thursday, November 1st, 2018 Baton Rouge, Louisiana WHY DO WE HAVE HATE CRIMES? The horrific Pittsburgh synagogue shooting that left 11 people dead last week was, for good reason, called “the deadliest anti-Semitic attack in U.S. history.”Â  It was a ghastly crime of appalling proportions. Robert Bowers is charged with 11 counts of using a firearm to commit...Read More

Thursday, October 25thth, 2018 Baton Rouge, Louisiana IS ANYONE INTERESTED IN VOTING IN LOUISIANA? Remember the 1970 song by Chicago; “Does anybody know what time it is, does anybody really care?” Well it’s close to Election Day in Louisiana, and it would seem by early voting projections and general lack of interest that Louisianans are...Read More

A really busy time of year for our weekend Common Sense radio show. How to deal with 5000 illegal immigrants heading for the border? Attorney and immigration specialist George Rodriguezfrom Dallas will join us to discuss. ( www.sralawonline.com.)  We will talk with Christian Bolton who says he was arrested and imprisoned because of his knowledge about...Read More

Thursday, October 18th, 2018 Baton Rouge, Louisiana LIVING AND DYING IN LOUISIANA! Fourteen 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

Thursday, October 11th, 2018 Baton Rouge, Louisiana WHAT’S THE NEW SECRETARY OF STATE TO DO? Special statewide elections in Louisiana are only a few weeks away. At the top of the ballot on November 6thwill be an office second in line to the governorship. A number of the candidates are harping on the same theme....Read More

October 4th, 2018 Baton Rouge, Louisiana MEDDLING WITH LOUISIANA CHARTER SCHOOLS! Here we go again with meddling federal judges. The 5thU.S Circuit Court of Appeals came down hard on Louisiana charter schools last week. Charter schools, that by definition are independent with major input from parents, now will have to bargain with teachers’ unions. The...Read More

Thursday, September 27th, 2018 Baton Rouge, Louisiana TERM LIMITS FOR SUPREME COURT JUSTICES? Whatever the final result over the confirmation battle of Judge Brett Kavanaugh, one thing is becoming more urgent.  The court itself has a crisis of legitimacy. And one way to restore its genuineness is to require term limits for all future judges....Read More

September 21st, 2018 Baton Rouge, Louisiana  RISK TAKERS STICK IT TO TAXPAYERS IN LOUISIANA! It’s been ten years since the financial crisis on Wall Street filtered down through the insurance industry.  Many national insurance companies were under siege, and even though Louisiana is a small state in population, policyholders were affected proportionally at a much...Read More

September 13th, 2018 Baton Rouge, Louisiana IN DEFENSE OF DUMB COUNTRY LAWYERS! I have a confession to make. And 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.”Â  I just hope the President does not have...Read More

Thursday, September 6th, 2018 Baton Rouge, Louisiana  LOUISIANA AND THE TURMOIL IN THE CATHOLIC CHURCH! We all know that there is a crisis in the Catholic Church right now. Allegations of sexually abusive clergy are pouring in worldwide.  Unfortunately, the roots of this terrible tragedy engulfing the Catholic Church have strong ties to the Bayou...Read More

August 30th, 2018 Baton Rouge, Louisiana JOHN MCCAIN AND BUDDY ROEMER! John McCain was a rare commodity in U. S. politics.  He was a war hero, full of good-natured irreverence, and a contrarian in the Republican Party.  McCain made it abundantly clear that he put America before party politics.  And when they both served in...Read More

August 23rd, 2018 Baton Rouge, Louisiana WHY HAVE AN ELECTED LT. GOVERNOR IN LOUISIANA? Current Louisiana Lt. Governor Billy Nungesser has brought up an interesting idea.  Have the governor and the lieutenant governor run together on the same ticket.  Such a system exists in a majority of states across the nation. As Nungesser states:  “The...Read More

August 16th, 2018 Baton Rouge, Louisiana IN LOUISIANA, JUST TELL EM’ I LIED! There seems to be a wealth of fabricators at the state capitol in Baton Rouge. Gov. Edwards is accusing U.S. Senator John Kennedy of making “untruthful comments” on the early release of state prisoners.  Kennedy has countered back calling out the Governor...Read More

Thursday, August 9th, 2018 New Orleans, Louisiana THE SEARING OF A GREAT CITY’S SOUL! The Queen City of the South is under siege.  No, not from hurricanes. This time, the siege is from within.  New Orleans is known as the city that care forgot.  But it’s been hard to let the good times roll in...Read More

Thursday, August 2nd, 2018 Baton Rouge, Louisiana THE LEGISLATURE AND CAESAR SALAD For years, legislators in Louisiana have maintained a well-deserved reputation of irrelevance when it comes to substantively addressing a host of public issues. The mantra seems to be one of keeping a finger in the financial dike to get through the next fiscal...Read More

July 26th, 2018 Baton Rouge, Louisiana TOO MANY INNOCENTS GETTING THE DEATH PENALTY! Down in the Bayou State, there’s a clamor for more executions. Louisiana Attorney General Jeff Landry makes no bones about his feelings.  More executions- including nitrogen gas, hangings, firing squads, electrocution and lethal injection.  But a federal judge has put all executions...Read More

July 19th, 2018 Baton Rouge, Louisiana TELEVISE FEDERAL TRIALS?  OF COURSE! With one recent Supreme Court Justice confirmed and another just appointed by President Trump, the issue of televising hearings before the nation’s highest court will surely be discussed. The Supremes have stood steadfastly against letting the public watch the cases argued before them, even...Read More

July 12th, 2018 Baton Rouge, Louisiana FRANCE AND LOUISIANA. GOOD NEWS! President Trump has put the French back in good graces with the U.S. while criticizing other European nations. He apparently turned a cold shoulder to both German and England over tariffs and NATO, but has developed a close and warm relationship with current French...Read More

July 5th, 2018 Baton Rouge, Louisiana A SUPREME COURT NOMINEE FROM LOUISIANA? FAT CHANCE! When President Trump was culling down his final list of Supreme Court nominees, one thing was certain – no consideration would be given to any judge sitting in New Orleans on the Fifth Circuit Court of Appeals. Being a federal court...Read More

June 28th, 2018 Baton Rouge, Louisiana EARLY LEARNING IRRELEVANT IN LOUISIANA! Legislators were high fiving this week over the balancing of the state budget by increasing the already highest sales tax in the nation. Fully funding the TOPS tuition program for college students became the centerpiece for much of the discussion. But through all the...Read More

Thursday, June 21st 2018 Baton Rouge, Louisiana  RUSSIANS AND ELECTION FRAUD?  YEAH, RIGHT!  “The Russians are coming!  The Russians are coming!” And according to politicians in both parties, they are out to infiltrate the entire U.S. election process.  A special prosecutor is looking under every rock to find the culprits involved.  And down here in Louisiana,...Read More

Thursday, June 14th, 2018 Baton Rouge, Louisiana SCANDALOUS LOUISIANA INSURANCE RATES!  Can you put lipstick on a pig? Well, business leaders are certainly giving it their best shot in an effort to counteract the fact that Louisiana’s outrageously expensive insurance rates make the Bayou State an environment hostile to the attraction of new businesses.  But,...Read More

June 7th, 2018 Baton Rouge, Louisiana WHY TAX DOLLARS FOR THE SAINTS? The Times Picayune reported last week that the New Orleans Saints may ask the state to pay for a $350 million upgrade to the Superdome before the 2024 Super bowl. That’s a huge taxpayer commitment for a state that can’t even fund education...Read More

May 31st, 2018 Baton Rouge, Louisiana Louisiana has been called the Culinary Mecca of America.  Folks in this part of the country can take just about anything edible and make it not just good, but quite exceptional.  And when we say anything, we mean everything.  There is virtually no limit to what a Cajun will...Read More

May 24th, 2018 Baton Rouge, Louisiana   THE HIGHS AND LOWS OF BILLY CANNON THE TOAST OF LSU!  Billy Cannon died this week. He was a Louisiana sports legend. There are some things you just don’t forget. Where you were on 9/11, or when President John Kennedy was shot.  Down here in the Bayou State, add to...Read More

Thursday, May 17th, 2018 Baton Rouge, Louisiana A THIRD POLITICAL PARTY FOR LOUISIANA? Political parties are at a low ebb both in Louisiana and throughout the rest of the country. Public opinion often dips below 40% approval rating in numerous national and statewide polling. Voters continue to lose faith in how both Democrats and Republicans...Read More

Thursday, May 10th, 2018 Baton Rouge, Louisiana GETTING OLDER AIN’T ALL THAT BAD! There is a disturbing article in a recent issue of Atlantic Magazine by a prominent physician at the University of Pennsylvania. Ezekiel J. Emanuelis an oncologist, a bioethicist, and a vice provost of the University, and is the author or editor of...Read More

Thursday, May 3rd, 2018 Baton Rouge, Louisiana THE DANGERS OF MEDICAL MARIJUANA IN LOUISIANA! Is medical marijuana the next Louisiana boondoggle?  The current Louisiana legislature seems bent on pushing through extended legislation that enlarges the number of medical conditions marijuana is supposed to treat. And even though the use of marijuana for any purpose, medical or...Read More

Thursday, April 26th, 2018 Baton Rouge, Louisiana COMEY AND FBI MISS THE TRUTH ABOUT LYING! Sad to say that the truth has become a diminishing commodity in America today.  Particularly when it comes to many branches of government. Remember the old adage that “I’m from the federal government and I’m here to help you?”Â  Too often,...Read More

Thursday, April 19th, 2018 Baton Rouge, Louisiana COMEY ALLOWED INJUSTICE IN LOUISIANA! So our President is a mafia boss, an unethical liar and “morally unfit” to be leading the country. At least that’s the opinion of former FBI chief James Comey. In his recent interviews, Comey also has a problem with Donald Trump’s orange skin,...Read More

Thursday, April 12th, 2018 Baton Rouge, Louisiana DOWNSIDE OF CASINOS IN LOUISIANA! Several quick financial fixes are being discussed in the current session of the Legislature involving the expansion of gambling.  Here’s an interesting thought. Why is it that Louisiana and neighboring state Mississippi are always on the bottom of every national ranking involving virtually...Read More

Thursday, April 5th, 2018 Baton Rouge, Louisiana SADNESS OVER MARCH MADNESS! Let me begin right off by saying that I am a college basketball diehard through and through. Like most sports fans, I cheer on my favorite teams in a number of sports. But at the top of my list has always been college basketball. My...Read More

March 29th, 2018 Baton Rouge, Louisiana POLITICAL VISION NEEDED IN LOUISIANA! There were several gatherings at the state capitol in Baton Rouge last week.  Former legislators gathered for their annual reunion to catch up on old friendships and reminisce about past legislative accomplishments. And the few living delegates from the 1973 Louisiana Constitutional Convention were honored...Read More

Thursday, March 22nd, 2018 Baton Rouge, Louisiana A LOUISIANA HERO STOPPED MY LAI MASSACRE!  Fifty years ago this weekend, the focus of the Vietnam War dramatically changed.  Many Americans were skeptical of why the war was necessary. There were scattered reports of American soldiers killing innocent civilians. But some would argue bad things can happen during...Read More

Thursday, March 15th, 2018 Baton Rouge, Louisiana LOUISIANA LEGISLATURE NEEDS SKIN IN THE GAME! The Louisiana Legislature just completed a “do nothing” session that proved to be a stalemate towards solving the state’s financial crisis.  A new regular session has begun with few signs that anything substantive will come about.  By law, no new tax...Read More

Thursday, March 8th, 2018 Baton Rouge, Louisiana  THE CASE FOR A NEW LOUISIANA CONSTITUTION!  One million dollars down the drain to pay for a special session of the Louisiana legislature. And all for naught. The Governor is hollering that the financial sky is falling and the state is in dire fiscal straights. Legislators protest that...Read More

Friday, March 2nd, 2018 Baton Rouge, Louisiana SPRING FEVER AND BASEBALL! It’s springtime, my favorite time of year.  The weather warms up without a lot of humidity.  Flowers bloom at their very best. It’s the season of my birthday.  If you live in Louisiana, we witness music festivals galore, including Mardi Gras, JazzFest and a...Read More

Thursday, February 22nd, 2018 Baton Rouge, Louisiana  WHY SAY SOMETHING IF NOTHING HAPPENS?  With an increasing number of mass shootings in recent months, we are urged by law enforcement officials to keep an eye out.  Report anything suspicious. “If you see something, say something” we are regularly told. The problem is, that in too many...Read More

Thursday, February 15th, 2018 Baton Rouge, Louisiana  LOUISIANA NOT IN THE RUNNING FOR AMAZON LOCATION! In the current competition to land a new Amazon second North American headquarters, Louisiana pulled out all stops.  It would have been quite a coup for a Louisiana location to land this big prize with some 50,000 new jobs to...Read More

February 9th, 2018 Baton Rouge, Louisiana  NATIONAL MILITARY PARADE NEEDED! The president last week suggested that the nation establish a yearly military parade to honor the service and the sacrifice of the current military and our veterans.  He spoke of it as “a unifying moment for the country.” Almost immediately, the Trump naysayers jumped all...Read More

Friday, February 2nd, 2018 Baton Rouge, Louisiana RESTORING FAITH IN THE FBI! It’s been a bad last few weeks for the nation’s top law enforcement agency.  First, an innocent hostage was shot and killed in a botched raid in Houston by an FBI shooter.  Then the television movie series “Waco” debuted and revisited the FBI...Read More

Thursday, January 25th, 2018 Baton Rouge, Louisiana LOUISIANA INSURANCE ENVIRONMENT GETS AN “F” Louisiana has one of the worst insurance regulatory environments in the nation. That is according to Washington-based conservative think tank R Street Institute in its 2017 Insurance Regulation Report Card just issued. And no, it’s not because of the trial lawyers or...Read More

January 18th, 2018 Baton Rouge, Louisiana HOW BAD IS STATE FISCAL MESS? The sky is falling, the sky is falling. At least the Louisiana fiscal sky is in a tailspin, or so says the Governor and a number of legislative leaders. The hue and cry is for one billion dollars in new taxes along with...Read More

Thursday, January 11th, 2017 Baton Rouge, Louisiana SABAN: THE BEST THERE EVER WAS! I don’t normally write a sports column, but a few words would seem appropriate after Alabama’s startling victory this past Monday night in the College Football Championship game. Simply put, love him or hate him, Alabama head coach Nick Saban is the best...Read More

Thursday, January 4th, 2018 Baton Rouge, Louisiana THE RISE AND FALL OF LSU! There has been a lot of bad news out of LSU, Louisiana’s flagship university in recent weeks. Not just on the football field where the Tigers have completed a mediocre season, even though they have the highest salaried group of coaches in...Read More

Thursday, December 28th, 2017 Baton Rouge, Louisiana WHAT TO EXPECT IN 2018!  It would be an understatement to say that this past year has been controversial on the political scene. Three major stories dominated the news from my perspective. Obviously at the top of the list was the continuing saga of Donald Trump. Then there...Read More

Thursday, December 21st, 2017 Baton Rouge, Louisiana In Louisiana, a number of Jefferson and St. Tammany Parish officials were aghast a few years ago over a proposal to sell the Causeway Bridge that goes to the North Shore across Lake Pontchartrain. When the state’s largest paper, the Times Picayune, mixed the idea editorially, one elected official after...Read More

Thursday, December 14th, 2017 Baton Rouge, Louisiana LESSONS LEARNED FROM ALABAMA SENATE RACE!  Republicans across the nation are cheering over the results of the Alabama senate race. No, you didn’t read this wrong. Sure, democrats are celebrating over the election victory of one of their own for the first time in 25 years. But it...Read More

Thursday, December 7th, 2017 Baton Rouge, Louisiana BACK TO VOTING ON PAPER BALLOTS?  A hue and cry is mounting around the country that voting machines used on Election Day are eminently hackable. Congress is investigating charges by the Office of Homeland Security that Russia attempted to hack into voting machines in 21 different states. So...Read More

Thursday, November 30th, 2017 Baton Rouge, Louisiana GET THE POLITICIANS OUT OF REAPPORTIONMENT! It’s getting close to redistricting time for legislators, both in Louisiana and throughout the country. By federal law, all election districts must be reapportioned every 10 years to reflect the latest census figures. But should legislators, who have a vested interest in...Read More

Thursday, November 23rd, 2017 Baton Rouge, Louisiana WHAT TO DO ABOUT STOPPING MASS SHOOTINGS? Mass shootings continue across the nation where no part of the country is  from a “wild west” mentality. The recent loss of life has been staggering. Those slaughtered range from one-year old kids to 77-year-old adults. A country music festival in...Read More

Thursday, November 16th, 2017 Baton Rouge, Louisiana EDWARDS AND DUKE – THE RACE FROM HELL! Twenty-six years ago this week, perhaps the most consequential and controversial election in the nation’s history took place here in the Bayou State. Edwin Edwards and David Duke squared off in a run-off election for Governor. Not only were voters...Read More

Thursday, November 9, 2017 Baton Rouge, Louisiana IS ANYONE INTERESTED IN VOTING IN LOUISIANA? Remember the 1970 song by Chicago: “Does anybody know what time it is, does anybody really care?” Well it’s close to Election Day in Louisiana, and it would seem by early voting and general lack of interest that Louisianans are not...Read More

Thursday, November 2nd, 2017 Baton Rouge, Louisiana             MANDATORY GUN INSURANCE COMING TO LOUISIANA? So have you purchased your gun insurance yet? In case you shoot someone, there are insurance policies available to cover any liabilities you might face, pay for your bail if you are accused of a crime, cover your attorney fees, and...Read More

Thursday, October 26th, 2017 Baton Rouge, Louisiana JUST WHAT IS AMERICA’S FAVORITE PASTIME? Look out sports fans! Maybe, just maybe, baseball is making a big comeback. Now I know we are in the middle of football season. Down my way in the Bayou State, both the Saints and the LSU Tigers are on a roll....Read More

Thursday, October 19th, 2017 Baton Rouge, Louisiana WAY TOO MANY ELECTIONS IN LOUISIANA! It’s like they threw a party but nobody came. That’s how election officials must have felt when they counted the ballots for last week’s statewide election. The turnout was a paltry 13.5%. Now remember that some 50% of adults over eighteen who...Read More

Thursday, October 12th, 2017 Baton Rouge, Louisiana  THE BETRAYAL ON JUSTICE IN LOUISIANA!  A Louisiana guy named John Thompson died last week. You may not recognize the name, but he was the victim of one of the worst cases of prosecutorial misconduct in the state’s history. Here are the facts. Thompson was convicted back in...Read More

Thursday, October 6th, 2017 Baton Rouge, Louisiana TOO BUSY FOR NATIONAL ANTHEM! I’ve always looked on honoring the flag and standing for the national anthem as a basic premise that connotes a commitment to protect our freedoms guaranteed to us under our constitution. It’s also a symbol of reverence for our soldiers who protect us...Read More

Thursday, September 28th, 2017 Baton Rouge, Louisiana TELL OUR YANKEE FRIENDS TO BUTT OUT! Our friends up north need to let it go.  According to a cross section of northern commentators, the Second Reconstruction may be over, but they think a third one may be necessary. Consider the Washington Post’s take in an Op Ed by their...Read More

Thursday, September 21st, 2017 Baton Rouge, Louisiana LOUISIANA AND FLORIDA: NIGHT AND DAY ON PROPERTY INSURANCE! With major hurricanes recently hitting Florida and Texas, and since some parts of Louisiana are still cleaning up after last year’s torrential rains, many property owners in the Bayou State are asking if insurance rates will go up. Will...Read More

Thursday, September 14th, 2017 Baton Rouge, Louisiana SHOULD YOU HAVE THE RIGHT TO DIE? We pride ourselves as Americans in our lifestyle choices. The right to freedom of choice, protecting our individual assertion of free will, and deciding just how we want to live our lives. And yes, we have the right to excess. You...Read More

September 7th, 2017 Baton Rouge, Louisiana WHAT TO DO ABOUT RISING FLOOD INSURANCE RATES? Hurricane Harvey has caused property owners along the Gulf and East Coasts to panic over projections of outrageous property flood insurance rates that, in some cases, could lead to increases of greater than 1000 percent. Is there really a problem finding...Read More

Thursday, August 31st, 2017 Baton Rouge, Louisiana HERE COMES THE CAJUN NAVY! The Cajun Navy wasted no time. Hurricane Harvey slammed into the Texas Coast on a Friday. By Sunday, hundreds of boats were on their way to Texas. I passed a supermarket parking lot two days after the storm hit, and a large contingent...Read More

Thursday, August 24th, 2017 Baton Rouge, Louisiana  LSU FOOTBALL AND RACE RELATIONS! Ah, the wisdom found in the New York Times. America’s newspaper (at least according to them) seems to find a reason every week to denigrate the backwards homefolks that populate Louisiana. Certainly some debasement is justified particularly when it comes to disparaging the...Read More

August 17th, 2017 Baton Rouge, Louisiana THE KU KLUX KLAN IN LOUISIANA! Focus is back on the Ku Klux Klan following the tragic violence in Charlottesville last week. The Southern Poverty Law Center released data alleging that the Klan is still active in Louisiana, particularly in the central and northwest part of the state.The Klan...Read More

August 10th, 2017 Baton Rouge, Louisiana WHO’S AT FAULT FOR HIGH AUTO INSURANCE RATES? Year after year, Louisiana sits at the top of the list for the most expensive state in the nation for auto insurance. Insure.com just released a new study showing the Bayou State in a neck and neck race with Michigan to...Read More

August 3rd, 2017 Baton Rouge, Louisiana DEALING WITH LOUISIANA’S FISCAL MESS! Louisiana’s chief executive has some big problems ahead. Over one billion dollars in current taxes are set to expire at the end of the year. That loss comes out of the current budget with no plans to take care of the long list of...Read More

Thursday, June 29th, 2017 Gulf Shores, Alabama WHAT HAPPENED TO LONG VACATIONS?  Does anyone take a real vacation anymore? In the good old days, school didn’t start until the Monday after Labor Day. Family destinations to the beach or the mountains were a regular and anticipated event. The last two weeks in August used to...Read More

Thursday, July 20th, 2017 Baton Rouge, Louisiana WHO’S THE REAL JACKASS IN LOUISIANA? 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

Thursday, July 13th, 2017 Linville, North Carolina LOUISIANA WON’T LET YOU GO! Let me tell you something I’ve learned over the years. You just can’t get away from Louisiana, no matter how hard you try. Just about anywhere I’ve traveled throughout the world, images of the Bayou State always seem to crop up. That was...Read More

Thursday, June 30th, 2017 Baton Rouge, Louisiana JOHN MCKEITHEN-LOUISIANA’S TRANSITION GOVERNOR! A popular Louisiana Governor died 15 years ago this month. John McKeithen was the first Governor I ever met.  When he was elected as chief executive in 1963, Louisiana was still a 19th century state struggling to operate in the 20thcentury.  McKeithen was the catalyst...Read More

Thursday, June 29th, 2017 Baton Rouge, Louisiana JOHN BEL EDWARDS AND THAT “VISION THING!” The consensus of most folks down in the Bayou State is that Louisiana has a governor who is a pretty decent fellow. He comes across as friendly, accessible, and hands on in running the daily operations of the state. He has...Read More

Thursday, June 22nd, 2017 Baton Rouge, Louisiana A LOUISIANA KID AND THE BERLIN WALL! Thirty-one years ago this week, President Ronald Reagan traveled to West Berlin, and at the Brandenburg Gate admonished: “Mr.Gorbachev take down that wall.”Â Â The Berlin Wall had been erected by the puppet soviet state of East Germany. Unless you are over sixty five...Read More

Thursday, June 15th, 2017 New Orleans, Louisiana A CONGRESSMAN AND KILLINGS IN NEW ORLEANS! A New Orleans congressman tragically was shot while he was out playing baseball. He survived, but will need a number of operations in the months to come. Some of those who first heard the news assumed that he had been shot...Read More

Thursday, June 8th, 2017 Baton Rouge, Louisiana ARE WE ALL FEDERAL CRIMINALS IN LOUISIANA? Congress is going “new law” crazy. In the nation’s capitol, hundreds of proposed new laws are being introduced every month, creating numerous different regulations and crimes.  And Louisiana congressional members are joining right in this push for more federal intrusion into...Read More

Thursday, June 1st, 2017 Baton Rouge, Louisiana DELUSION OR COMMON SENSE IN THE MIDDLE EAST? President Trump has just returned form a whirlwind trip to the Middle East. And he has vowed to keep a continuing and aggressive U.S. presence where American soldiers are fighting in Iraq, Afghanistan, Syria, Kuwait, Bahrain, Turkey, and other states...Read More

Thursday, May 25th, 2017 Baton Rouge, Louisiana TRUMP GUTS LOUISIANA ON OIL INCOME! The new proposed budget just released by the Trump Administration guts past federal assurances that Louisiana will share in the billions of tax dollars that are derived from offshore oil development. The state was anticipating the receipt of some $140 million in...Read More

Thursday, My 18th, 2017 Baton Rouge, Louisiana LOUISIANA CATCHING UP TO THE 21st CENTURY? With tax dollars scarce in Louisiana, this should be the time to discuss streamlining on the state and local levels. Just how many boards, commissions, water districts, sewer districts, parish auditors, law enforcement offices, and other special districts are spread throughout...Read More

Thursday, May 11th, 2017 New Orleans, Louisiana MONUMENTS, THE PRESIDENT AND THE CIVIL WAR! As the battle over taking down Civil War monuments in New Orleans rages, President Trump has jumped into the debate by questioning why the conflict was even necessary. In a recent interview, Trump asked: “Why was there a Civil War? Why...Read More

Thursday, May 4th, 2017 Baton Rouge, Louisiana THE CHALLENGES AND CHARMS OF GETTING OLDER! I woke up earlier this week, followed my normal routine of walking the dogs, picking up the morning papers, pouring my large glass of orange juice half filled with water to dilute the sugar, checked my emails, walked out on the...Read More

Thursday, April 27th, 2017 Baton Rouge, Louisiana POLITICS BEING CRIMINALIZED BY PROSECUTORS? I have known former Alabama Governor Don Siegelman for a number of years. We both served our respective states as Secretary of State back in the mid 1980s. I consider him to be a good and decent former public official. Don Siegelman was...Read More

Thursday, April 20th, 2017 Baton Rouge, Louisiana THE CUBAN MISSILE CRISIS: LESSONS LEARNED TODAY? Is another Cuban Missile Crisis at hand between the U.S. and North Korea? A little history can tell us just how dangerous a nuclear confrontation can be. Fifty-four years ago, America faced another perilous moment and was on the brink of...Read More

Thursday, April 13th, 2017 Baton Rouge, Louisiana RICHARD NIXON AND LOUISIANA! There is a new book on a number of best selling lists about former President Richard Nixon by author John Farrell. Nixon became the first and only president to resign from office. Those of you too young to remember the events surrounding Watergate missed...Read More

Thursday, April 6th, 2017 Baton Rouge, Louisiana GOVERNOR JIMMIE DAVIS BROUGHT US SUNSHINE! It could be the most recognized American song worldwide. Go to a small Asian community where little or no English is spoken.  Start humming, “You Are My Sunshine.”Â  More likely than not, the locals will join in singing the song in English.  Everybody...Read More

March 30th, 2017 Baton Rouge, Louisiana MARCH MADNESS SHORT CHANGING ATHLETES! Millions of rabid college basketball fans have been glued to their TVs over the past month as March Madness reached its crescendo. And the big bucks have been rolling in.  With coaches getting bigger salaries and colleges splitting huge TV and admission revenue “”...Read More

March 23rd, 2017 Baton Rouge, Louisiana JFK AND HIS SPECIAL RELATIONSHIP WITH LOUISIANA! The 34th President of the United States was born 100 hundred years ago.  John F. Kennedy captured the hearts of the American people like no other president, before or since.  And from the first stirrings of his efforts to become president, to events...Read More

Thursday, March16th, 2017 New Orleans, Louisiana A MAJOR SHAKE UP NEEDED IN CONGRESS! 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 15 years ago, Congress had an approval rating of 65%.  But no more.  The most recent Harris and...Read More

Friday, March 10th, 2017 Baton Rouge, Louisiana THE CONTINUING INTEREST IN EDWIN EDWARDS! Former Louisiana Governor Edwin Edwards is approaching 90 years old and hasn’t seemed to slow down a bit. He remains active, still speaking throughout the state, often accompanied with his young wife and 4-year-old son. Last year, a Baton Rouge Advocate poll...Read More

Thursday, March 2nd, 2017 Baton Rouge, Louisiana  A LOUISIANA GUY THEY COULD CALL MR. PRESIDENT?  John Bel Edwards for president? The Louisiana governor is being touted as a Democratic Party contender on the national front. Just a little over a year in his present job, it may be a sign of the few future contenders...Read More

Thursday, February 23rd, 2017 Baton Rouge, Louisiana  A LITTLE LOUISIANA HISTORY GOVERNOR TREEN! Dave Treen was sworn in as Louisiana’s Governor 37 years ago. Anyone who knew him noted what a nice guy he was. But Treen’s legacy will not be based on his friendliness. History will treat him well and acknowledge that he was...Read More

Thursday, February 16th, 2017 Baton Rouge, Louisiana WHY AREN’T WE THE GREATEST GENERATION? Former NBC newscaster Tom Brokaw wrote a book a few years back about what he called “The Greatest Generation.” In contrast, there’s a recent best seller out calling America “the dumbest generation.” And since Louisiana is at the bottom of the barrel...Read More

February 9th, 2017 Baton Rouge, Louisiana  WHAT WOULD YOU ASK PRESIDENT TRUMP?  If you could sit down with our new president, what would questions would you ask him? What insights would you be looking for?  What knowledge would you expect him to have?  And just how much difference do you think he can really make?...Read More

Thursday, February 3rd, 2017 Baton Rouge, Louisiana NO CHANCE OF SUPREME COURT CHOICE FROM LOUISIANA! Before President Trump made his choice to fill the vacancy on the United States Supreme Court, the White House undertook a nationwide search. But by even the widest stretch of standards to be met by any nominee, one thing was...Read More

Thursday, January 26th, 2017 Baton Rouge, Louisiana  KEYSTONE PIPELINE: LOUISIANA’S ECONOMIC SAVIOR? One of the new President’s first actions announced this week is to support the building of the Keystone XL pipeline that the Obama administration had disapproved. Both Louisiana senators hailed the decision and talked about all the new jobs that will come to...Read More

Friday, January 20th, 2017 Baton Rouge, Louisiana  STRAIGHTENING OUT LOUISIANA’S FINANCIAL WOES! We hear from the national news that the country has become polarized over the election of Donald Trump. But if you want to see real division in government, just take a gander down South to the Bayou State. Republicans have been trying to...Read More

Friday, January 13th, 2017 Baton Rouge, Louisiana  NEW GIMMICK TO RAISE TAXES IN LOUISIANA!  You would think that in the New Year, following a year when the Louisiana legislature raised taxes by over one billion dollars, lawmakers would sense the public’s anti-tax fervor and be averse to mining every nook and cranny for more taxes. ...Read More